SCHOOL 
SANITATION 
AND 
DECORATION 


PROPERTY  OF 
JNO.  WM.  DONOHUE, 

ARCHITECT, 

SPRINGFIELD,      MASS 


>L    SANITATION 
A          DECORATION 


A  P^  '<dy  of  Health  and  Beauty  in  tkeir 

'/.••  to  the  Public  Schools 


RRA< 


233OM 

V  TH>  AMKR.1 


T 


C,  HEATlT  AND  CO> 


MOSES 

From  statue  by  Michel  Angelo.     1475-1564 


Interesting  subject ,  majestic  com- 
position. 


SCHOOL    SANITATION 
AND    DECORATION 


A  Practical  Study  of  Health  and  Beauty  in  their 
Relations  to  the  Public  Schools 


BY 


SEVERANCE   BURRAGE,   S.B. 

PROFESSOR  OF  SANITARY  SCIENCE  IN  1-URDUE  UNIVERSITY,  AND 

MEMBER  OF  THE  AMERICAN   PUBLIC  HEALTH  ASSOCIATION 

AND 

HENRY  TURNER   BAILEY 

STATE  SUPERVISOR  OF  DRAWING,   MASSACHUSETTS 


D.  C.  HEATH  AND  COMPANY 
BOSTON  .  NEW  YORK  •  CHICAGO 


COPYRIGHT,  1899, 
BY  D.  C.   HEATH  &  CO. 


Nortoooti  }P«SB 

J.  8.  Cashing  &  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith 
Norwood  Mass.  U.S.A. 


FOREWORD 

OUR  country  shall  be  filled  with  a  race  of  royal  men 
and  women.  They  will  be  strong  and  beautiful,  for 
they  will  have  physical  and  intellectual  health.  They 
will  be  righteous  and  happy,  for  they  will  have  the 
piety  so  happily  defined  by  Dr.  William  T.  Harris,  — 
"  the  piety  not  merely  of  the  heart,  but  the  piety  of  the 
intellect  that  beholds  truth,  the  piety  of  the  will  that 
does  good  deeds  wisely,  the  piety  of  the  senses  that 
sees  the  beautiful  and  realizes  it  in  works  of  art." 

It  is  hoped  that  this  little  book  may  contribute  to  the 
forces  which  are  cooperating  to  produce  the  crowning 
race  in  America. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTION xiii 

Purpose  of  the  book.  Danger  in  treating  the  subject 
too  rabidly.  Modern  educational  methods  tend  to  make 
school  work  as  easy  as  possible.  Tendency  to  improve 
architecture  and  sanitary  condition.  Results  of  improve- 
ments, rounding  out  the  characters  of  pupils  and  bettering 
their  health. 

CHAPTER    I     (Burrage) 

LOCATION  OF  SCHOOLS i 

Selection  of  site  in  country  districts.     Selection  in  cities. 

CHAPTER    II     (Bohn) 
CONSTRUCTION  AND  REQUIREMENTS  OF  SCHOOL  BUILDINGS        8 

Development  of  schoolhouse  architecture.  Sanitary 
laws.  The  financial  problem.  Construction  require- 
ments. Protection  from  fire.  The  exterior  design.  The 
interior  design.  Special  problems :  one,  two,  four,  and 
eight  room  buildings. 

CHAPTER   III     (Burrage) 
PRINCIPLES  OF  VENTILATING,  HEATING,  AND  LIGHTING      .      33 

How  air  is  vitiated.  Effects  of  bad  air.  Ventilation 
requirements.  Tests  for  bad  air.  Methods  of  ventilating. 
Natural  ventilation.  Artificial  ventilation.  Gravity  and 
fan  systems.  Amount  and  direction  of  light.  Effects  of 
bad  lighting.  Artificial  lighting.  Laws  regulating  win- 
dow space  abroad. 


Vi  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  IV    (Barrage) 

PAGE 

SANITARY  PROBLEMS  OF  THE  SCHOOLHOUSE        ...      60 

Discussion  of  sanitaries,  sewerage  disposal,  and  provi- 
sion for  pure  and  sufficient  water  supply.  Methods  of 
drinking.  Baths.  Care  of  school  building.  General 
duties  of  janitor.  Cleaning,  sweeping,  dusting,  care  of 
closets.  Importance  of  sanitary  inspection. 


CHAPTER   V     (Burrage) 

SCHOOL  FURNITURE 73 

Desks,  blackboards.  Special  accommodations  for  sick 
teachers  and  pupils.  Drinking  cups  and  drinking  foun- 
tains. 


CHAPTER   VI     (Bailey) 

THE  SCHOOLROOM 83 

Character.  —  A  study ;  not  merely  a  workshop  or  a 
parlor.  Should  be  convenient  and  beautiful.  What  con- 
stitutes a  beautiful  room. 

Finish.  —  Selection  of  wood :  oak,  its  advantages  of 
texture  and  color ;  ash,  special  value  from  cheapness  and 
color;  North  Carolina  pine,  special  values  under  certain 
conditions  of  light,  etc.  Whitewood,  disadvantages.  Fin- 
ish for  natural  woods.  Painted  finish,  advantages  and 
disadvantages. 

Walls  and  Ceiling.  —  Selection  of  color  according  to 
conditions  of  light,  finish,  etc.  Advantages  of  oil  colors. 
Character  of  surface  to  serve  well  as  a  background  for 
pictures  and  other  art  objects.  Suggestion  for  coloring. 

Window  Shades.  —  The  inside  blind.  Venetian  blinds. 
Curtains  :  color,  hanging,  etc. 

Other  Permanent  Furnishings.  —  Desks.  Book-cases. 
Cabinets.  The  school  bulletin. 


CONTENTS  vii 


CHAPTER   VII     (Bailey) 

PAGE 

SCHOOLROOM  DECORATION 94 

Danger  of  over-decoration.  Examples  of  bad  and  good 
decoration : 

Pictures.  —  Kind  of  pictures  ;  subjects  ;  framing^  hang- 
ing. Graded  list  of  pictures. 

Casts.  —  Selection  with  reference  to  position,  lighting, 
etc. ;  tone ;  hanging.  Graded  list  of  casts. 

Other  Beautiful  Objects.  —  Selection  with  reference  to 
color,  form,  and  use. 

Flowers.  —  Window  gardens  ;  potted  plants  ;  cut  flow- 
ers. Use  as  a  means  of  culture. 

CHAPTER   VIII     (Bailey) 
THE  OLD  COUNTRY  SCHOOLROOM 122 

"A  condition,  not  a  theory."  First  steps  toward 
beauty :  purification,  order ;  painting,  the  finish ;  the 
walls,  the  ceiling ;  window  shades ;  flowers ;  one  good 
thing ;  collection  of  prints.  Desirable  pictures  and  casts. 

CHAPTER   IX     (Burrage) 
SCHOOL  CHILDREN 127 

•  Arrangement  of  children  in  rooms.  Regulation  of 
school  work  to  accommodate  age,  sex,  and  individual. 
Care  of  health.  Contagious  diseases  in  schools.  Precau- 
tions against  spread  of  disease  among  pupils.  Medical 
inspection  of  school  children. 

CHAPTER   X 
INFLUENCE  OF  SCHOOL  LIFE  UPON  THE  EYE       .        .        .     146 

Structure  of  the  eye.  Tests  of  vision.  Long-sight. 
Near-sight.  Effect  of  poorly  printed  books  and  unsani- 
tary conditions. 


viii  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER   XI     (Burrage) 

PAGE 

SCHOOL  AUTHORITIES  AND  PATRONS    .        .        .        .         -159 

Responsibilities  of  cities,  towns,  and  school  boards. 
Interest  of  teachers  in  the  sanitary  conduct  of  schools. 
Interest  and  influence  of  parents. 

CHAPTER  XII     (Bailey) 

BEAUTY  IN  SCHOOL  WORK 168 

Beauty  in  all  school  work  supplementary  to  beauty  in 
schoolroom.  Beautiful  environment  insufficient  of  itself. 
Beauty  of  room  reflected  in  beautiful  work. 

Adaptation,  arrangement,  enrichment.  Examples  of 
applied  art  from  the  work  of  teacher  throughout  day. 
Relation  of  good  decorations  to  daily  work. 

Results  in  nature  study,  history,  geography.  Literature. 
Picture  study.  Secured  by  forethought  as  to  materials, 
arrangement,  color,  finish. 

Examples  of  the  work  of  pupils. 

APPENDIX 185 

A  classified  list  of  works  of  art  suitable  for  schoolroom 
decoration. 


PROPERTY  OF 

.  WM.  DONOHUE, 

ARCHITECT, 

SPRINGFIELD,   MASS 


LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

PHOTOGRAVURES 

MOSES Frontispiece 

From  the  Colossal  Statue  by  Michael  Angelo. 

FACING   PAGE 

THE  THREE  FATES xvi 

From  the  Pediment  of  the  Parthenon. 

SPRING 32 

From  Painting  by  Corot 

THE  GOLDEN  STAIR 58 

From  Painting  by  Burne-Jones. 

THE  ESCAPED  Cow       .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .72 

From  Painting  by  Dupr6. 

THE  GLEANERS 102 

From  Painting  by  Millet 

AURORA 158 

From  Painting  by  Guido  Reni. 

HOLY  FAMILY 168 

From  Painting  by  Murillo. 

PLATES 

PLATE 

I.   View  of  Twelve-room  Schoolhouse           ....        8 
II.    Entrances  to  Public  Schools  No.  10  and  No.  45,  India- 
napolis, Ind 1 8 

III.  View  of  an  Attractive  School  Cabinet      ....  20 

IV.  Stairway  Landing  and  Assembly  Hall      ....  22 
V.   Plan  for  One-room  Building    ......  26 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING   PAGE 


PLATE 

VI.    Plan     for     One-room     Building     (with     detached 

closets) 27 

VII.    View   of    One-room    Building,   Center    Township, 

Porter  County,  Ind 28 

VIII.    Plan  for  One-room  Building  (with  teacher's  posi- 
tion behind  the  pupils)         .....  30 
IX.    Plan  for  Two-room  Building    .....  30 

X.    Plan  for  Four-room  Building 30 

XI.    Plan  for  Eight-room  Building,  with  Assembly  Hall  30 

XII.    View  of  Eight-room  Building,  with  Assembly  Hall  32 

XIII.  View  of  Whitinsville  High  School  Buildings    .         .  35 

XIV.  Corner  of  a  Kindergarten  Room,  Indianapolis,  Ind.  82 
XV.    An  Attractive  Window-Garden,  Pasadena,  Cal.        .  83 

XVI.    By  the  River-Side.     From  Painting  by  Le  Rolle      .  go 

XVII.    The  Lion  of  Lucerne.     Thorwaldsen                .         .  92 

XVIII.    Reading  Homer.     Alma-Tadetna   ....  93 

XIX.    View  of  an  Over-Decorated  Schoolroom  .         .         .  94 

XX.    View  of  a  Well-Decorated  Schoolroom    ...  95 
XXI.    View  of  a  Well-Framed  Picture.     (Caritas,  Abbot 

Thayer}       .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .106 

XXII.    Cast   of  Madonna  and  Child.     Donatella.     (View 

under  full  front  light)   .         .         .         .         .         .108 

XXIII.  View  of  the  same  under  a  side  light         .         .         .  109 

XXIV.  View  of  the  same  under  selected  side  light       .         .no 
XXV.    (#)   Bambino.      Luca     Delia    Robbia.      (b)  Lion. 

Barye.     (c)  St.  John.     Donatella        .         .         .in 
XXVI.    View   of  Assembly  Hall,   High    School,   Medford, 

Mass. 112 

XXVII.    View  of  High  School  Library,  Springfield,  Mass.     .  113 
XXVIII.    (a)  The  Fighting  Te'me'raire.     Turner,     (b}  Feed- 
ing   Her    Birds.     Millet,     (c)  Notre   Dame   de 

Paris,     (d)  Madonna  of  the  Chair.     Raphael     .  114 

XXIX.  (i)  View  of  Two  Flower  Vases  and  an  Ornamental 

Jar.     (2)  View   of    Two   Flower  Vases   and    a 
Japanese  Figure.     Bunkio  Matsuki     .         .         -115 

XXX.  View  of  the  Sacred  Lily  fitly  set.     Bunkio  Matsuki  116 
XXXI.    View  of  an  Object  of  Beauty.     Bunkio  Matsuki      .  117 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


XI 


FACING  PAGE 


XXXII.    View  of  Decorative  Tiles 118 

XXXIII.  The  Effective  Use  of  the  Jardiniere.     Weed          .    -120 

XXXIV.  An  Appropriate  Vase  for  a  Single  Plant.     Weed  .     121 
XXXV.    Vases   Appropriate   in   Form   and   Color  to   the 

Flowers  they  Hold.      Weed       .         .         .         .122 
XXXVI.    A  Well-Placed  Flower.     Weed     .         .         .         .123 


[Plates  numbered  37  to  52  follow  page  184.] 

XXXVII.    (i)  Number  Paper,  by   a   First   Grade   Primary 

Pupil. 

(2)  An  Artistic  Spelling  Paper. 

XXXVIII.    View  of  a  Well-Arranged  Paper  and  its  Opposite. 
XXXIX.    View  of  Pictures,  Mounted  by  Fourth  Year  Pupils. 
XL.    Language  Paper,  by  an  Eighth  Grade  Pupil. 
XLI.    A   Well-Spaced   History    Paper,  by  Fifth   Grade 

Pupil. 

XLII.  A  Well-Balanced  Paper,  by  Fifth  Grade  Pupil. 
XLIII.  First  Page  Design,  by  an  Eighth  Grade  Pupil. 
XLIV.  Cover  Design  for  Papers  upon  Egyptian  Art,  by 

an  Eighth  Grade  Pupil. 
XLV.   Two  Sketches  in  Writing  Ink. 
XLVI.    A  Cover  Design  by  Ninth  Grade  Pupil. 
XLVII.    Object  Drawings  in  Two  Colors  and  Black,  by 

Ninth  Year  Pupils. 

'XLVIII.  A  Drawing  in  .Pencil,  by  a  High  School  Pupil.  A 
Drawing  in  Water  Color,  by  a  Normal  School  Pupil. 
Examples  of  Good  Arrangement. 

XLIX.    Studies  of  a  Sprouting  Bean,  by  a  High  School  Pupil. 
L.   Cover  for  Set  of  Papers  on  Greek  Architecture. 

Designed  by  Normal  Pupil. 

LI.    Cover  for  Set  of  Greek  Papers.     Designed  by  a 
High  School  Pupil. 


Xll 


FIGURES   IN    THE   TEXT 

FIGURE  PAGE 

1.  Cove  Base  Molding           .         .         .         .         .         .         .  15 

2.  Window  Sill 16 

3.  Heating  and  Ventilating  System  with  Inlet  and  Outlet  on 

the  Same  Side  of  the  Room           .....  44 

4.  Ditto,  with  Inlet  and  Outlet  on  Opposite  Sides  and  near 

the  Floor 45 

5.  Ditto,  with  Inlet  near  the  Floor  and  Outlet  near  the  Ceil- 

ing on  the  Opposite  Side 45 

6.  Ditto,  with  Inlet  High  and  Outlet  near  the  Floor  on  the 

Opposite  Side        ........  46 

7.  Ditto,  with  Inlet  High  and  Outlet  High  and  Opposite      .  47 

8.  Effect  of  Steam  with  Direct  Radiation      .         .         .  51 

9.  Effect  of  the  Unjacketed  Stove          .....  52 

10.  Slow-Combustion  Ventilating  Stove          ....  53 

11.  Adjustable  Desk 77 

12.  Sanitary  Drinking  Fountain      .         .         .         .         .         .81 

13.  Color  Diagram          ........  88 

14.  Tone  Diagram 89 

15.  Pedestal no 

1 6.  Frame  for  Cast          .'.         .         .         .         .         .         .111 

17.  Vases  for  Flowers 119 

18.  An  Attractive  Window 124 

19.  Distorted  Position  caused  by  a  High  Desk        .         .         .132 

20.  Vertical  Section  of  the  Eyeball         .....  146 

21.  Diagram  showing  effect  of  Biconvex  Lens  on  Rays  of  Light  147 

22.  Eye  Test 148 

23.  Section  of  Hypermetropic  Eye 149 

24.  Section  of  Myopic  Eye     .         .         .         .         .         •         •  I5I 

25.  Chart  showing  Prevalence  of  Near-sight,  Far-sight,  and 

Normal  Vision  at  Different  Ages 153 

26.  Models  of  Arrangement  for  Written  Work        .         .         .  174 

27.  Symmetrical  Arrangement 175 

28.  Balanced  Arrangement 176 


INTRODUCTION 


THE  sanitation  and  decoration  of  schools  is  a  subject 
that  in  the  last  few  years  has  received  much  attention. 
Teachers  and  school  boards  have  become  interested  in 
it  and  have  made  much  progress,  but  there  has  been  no 
concise  work  that  they  could  use  as  a  guide.  It  is  hoped 
that  such  a  guide  will  "be  found  in  this  book. 

There  are  two  ways  of  treating  a  subject  of  this  kind. 
One  is  to  deal  with  it  rabidly,  trying  to  impress  the 
reader  with  the  idea  that  the  public  schools  are  teeming 
with  dirt  and  filth,  that  they  are  the  chief  factors  in  the 
spread  of  disease  among  children,  finally  leaving  the  im- 
pression that  the  public  school  must  be  an  exceedingly 
bad  place  to  which  to  send  boys  and  girls.  The  other 
way  is  to  treat  it  with  reason,  quietly  admitting  that 
there  are  conditions  to  be  improved,  that  there  are  some 
unsanitary  and  unsightly  schools,  and  showing  how  such 
conditions  may  be  remedied,  and  how  lessons  may  be 
learned  from  experience  for  the  better  construction  and 
conduct  of  new  buildings. 

If  the  writer  should  choose  the  first  method,  he 
would  be  apt  to  discourage  his  readers  so  that  little 
or  nothing  would  be  done  to  improve  matters,  and  the 
object  of  the  book  would  not  be  accomplished.  It  is 
the  intention  throughout  these  pages  to  treat  the  sub- 


xiv  INTRODUCTION 

ject  as  reasonably  and  helpfully  as  possible,  to  encour- 
age, not  discourage,  reforms  in  the  sanitation  and  deco- 
ration of  our  public  school  buildings,  to  the  end  that 
money  expended  upon  the  construction,  decoration,  and 
renovation  of  our  schools  may  be  used  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage, and  that  cities  and  towns  may  become  more 
attractive  and  beautiful  by  having  artistic  and  healthful 
schools.  In  this  way  we  may  contribute  to  future  com- 
munities the  possibility  of  a  more  healthy  and  vigorous 
manhood  and  womanhood. 

Educational  theories  have  so  far  broadened  that  it  is 
no  longer  claimed  that  the  old  schools  were  the  best 
schools,  where  hard  benches,  poor  print,  plain  walls,  and 
bad  air  were  the  constant  companions  of  the  pupils 
while  they  studied.  Because  Benjamin  Franklin,  or 
Abraham  Lincoln,  or  anybody  else,  was  successfully 
reared  under  such  unfavorable  conditions,  is  no  reason 
why  the  boys  and  girls  of  to-day,  who  have  an  entirely 
different  environment,  should  be  subjected  to  any  un- 
necessary hindrances  or  dangers. 

In  any  community  there  are  a  few  exceptionally 
healthy  and  bright  pupils  who  will  make  their  marks, 
no  matter  how  poor  their  instruction  and  surroundings. 
But  it  is  the  object  of  the  public  school  system  to  edu- 
cate all  of  the  children.  It  is  recognized  that  all  cannot 
stand  hardships  and  unfavorable  conditions  such  as  are 
mentioned  above.  In  fact,  comparatively  few  children 
of  the  present  time  could  go  through  the  old  school 
system  without  receiving  some  mental  or  physical  scar 
resulting  from  the  bad  conditions.  Perhaps  the  child 
of  to-day  is  a  more  delicate  organism  than  the  child  of 
fifty  or  a  hundred  years  ago.  Whether  this  be  true  or 


INTRODUCTION  XV 

not,  unnecessary  stumbling-blocks  must  not  be  placed 
in  the  path  of  his  educational  career. 

In  order  to  realize  that  this  fact  is  appreciated  by 
modern  educational  authorities,  it  is  but  necessary  to 
step  into  some  recently  built  school  and  compare  it  with 
any  schoolhouse  of  long  ago.  The  difference  is  at 
once  seen.  The  present  tendency  is  toward  making 
the  work  as  easy  and  interesting  as  possible,  and  the 
surroundings  healthful  and  beautiful.  The  studies  are 
arranged  in  their  proper  sequence,  the  hours  of  work 
and  recreation  are  balanced  and  regulated,  the  rooms 
and  halls  are  more  or  less  decorated  with  pictures, 
statuary,  photographs,  and  plants,  —  all  tending  toward 
the  rounding  out  of  the  pupil's  character.  While  we 
may  take  great  pride  in  this  advance,  the  fact  must 
not  be  overlooked  that  there  are  many  schools  that  are 
in  this  respect  behind  the  times.  It  happens  here  also, 
as  in  every  reform,  that  there  are  some  instances  of 
overdoing,  in  which  matters  are  carried  so  far  that 
much  if  not  all  of  the  benefit  is  lost.  Some  teachers 
are  naturally  more  enthusiastic  than  others,  and  perhaps 
carry  the  "  open-window  "  idea  or  the  "  picture-hanging  " 
to  excess,  while  others  turn  their  backs  on  the  whole 
thing  as  being  outside  their  province  of  work.  It  does 
not  seem  right  that  one  school  in  a  community  should 
have  beautiful  architecture,  sanitary  surroundings,  and 
fine  interior  decorations,  while  the  schoolhouse  only  a 
few  blocks  away  may  be  poorly  located  and  constructed, 
badly  ventilated  and  heated,  and  may  have  no  beautify- 
ing features  inside  or  out.  It  is  evident  in  such  a  case 
that  all  the  children  in  this  town  are  not  given  equal 
opportunities  for  education.  Furthermore,  if  we  com- 


xvi  INTRODUCTION 

pare  the  amount  and  kind  of  decoration  in  the  various 
rooms  of  a  single  building,  we  cannot  fail  to  notice  the 
lack  of  harmony.  One  room  may  have  a  few  fine  works 
of  art,  good  taste  being  shown  in  the  selection  and 
hanging ;  another  may  have  its  walls  literally  papered 
with  photographs  and  pictures  cut  from  magazines ;  and 
still  a  third  may  have  no  decorations  whatever.  Such 
variations  are  largely,  if  not  wholly,  due  to  the  teachers. 
It  will  be  admitted  by  all  that  there  are  reforms  to 
be  carried  out,  faults  to  be  remedied,  unsanitary  condi- 
tions to  be  removed,  and  proper  ideals  in  architecture 
and  decoration  to  be  maintained.  We  hope  that  teachers 
and  school  officials  will  find  the  facts,  ideas,  and  illus- 
trations set  forth  in  the  following  pages  valuable  to 
them  in  pushing  forward  the  work  that  has  already 
been  so  well  begun  in  the  sanitation  and  decoration  of 
our  public  school  buildings. 


THE   THREE    FATES 

From  the  pediment  of  the  Parthe 


for  High  School, 
iteriy    group,    wonderfully 
e  as  lighted  in  the  photogra- 
beautiful   in   composition   of 


IN  J  RODUCTION 

kind  of  decorati  rious 

e  the 
- 

'      betnj  in   the  >  and 

•ts  walls  literally 
;  and       i  ares  cut  from  magazi 
1      .;  -  decorations  whatever.     Such 

vire  largely,  if  not  w'  teachers. 

•e  admitted  by  all  t  forms  to 

t,  faults  to  b  iry  condi- 

ture 
.  •  oration  to 

rol  officui  illus- 

-,et   fortb 
them  in  pusbn,._ 

OfTnPA'JI'      'JJ'iJCrU'T'      TT  TT>T> 

<^aiA»i    d>d>lHT    aHT 

**•**  '  ho  o  i  u 

"fiBM  9ni  To  Jnamifasq  ari 


dgiH  10! 
,quoi§ 

-fiigotorfq  srfj  ni  baJrfgil  g£ 
lo   noiJfsoqmoD   ni  MituEad    ; 

.anil 


SCHOOL   SANITATION    AND 
DECORATION 

CHAPTER   I 

LOCATION    OF   SCHOOLS 

EVERY  condition  and  consideration  which  enters  into 
the  selection  of  a  site  for  a  dwelling  becomes  doubly 
important  when  applied  to  the  selection  of  a  school- 
house  site.  It  is  not  customary  for  a  man  who  is  in 
his  right  mind  to  select  for  his  home  a  site  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  a  powder  magazine.  He  is  fearful  lest  the  powder 
explode  and  destroy  his  life  and  property.  Yet  men, 
apparently  sane,  select  most  unsanitary  and  unsightly 
places  for  their  dwellings,  and  for  schoolhouses  as 
well. 

It  is  probable  that  the  average  individual  in  this 
climate  spends  from  85  to  90  per  cent  of  his  time  in- 
doors. In  the  case  of  school  children,  perhaps  more 
than  half  of  this  indoor  life  is  in  their  homes,  and 
nearly  all  of  the  remainder  would  be  spent  in  the 
schoolhouse.  During  school  hours  the  children  are 
subjected  to  the  influence  of  their  surroundings,  be 
they  good  or  bad.  If  the  children  are  compelled  by 
law  to  attend  school,  the  authorities  should  spare  no 
pains  to  make  their  environment  the  best. 


2  SCHOOL   SANITATION  AND   DECORATION 

The  question  of  school  location  includes  the  consid- 
eration of  a  number  of  important  points,  such  as  the 
character  of  the  soil,  the  condition  of  neighboring  lots 
of  land,  the  proximity  of  hills,  trees  or  buildings  that 
would  tend  to  shut  out  the  sunlight.  Usually  it  is  the 
expense  of  the  land  and  the  central  position  of  the  lot 
that  are  the  prime  factors  in  the  determination  of  a 
school  site,  but  this  should  not  be  so.  The  greatest 
attention  and  care  should  be  given  to  the  healthfulness 
of  the  site  and  the  architectural  possibilities  that  it  may 
possess.  If  possible,  the  architect  who  is  to  construct 
the  building  should  be  consulted  in  regard  to  the  lot 
before  the  final  selection  is  made.  In  this  way  the 
public  schools  may  become  the  most  beautiful  archi- 
tectural features  of  the  town,  as  numerous  examples 
show.  In  considering  the  location  of  country  and  city 
schools  the  problems  that  arise  are  so  vitally  different 
that  it  will  be  more  instructive  to  study  them  under 
separate  heads. 

LOCATION    OF    THE    COUNTRY    SCHOOL 

The  modern  community  is  tending  toward  the  abolish- 
ment of  the  district  school,  collecting  the  teaching  force 
into  one  large,  central  building,  and  transporting  the 
distant  pupils  to  it,  thus  not  only  saving  considerable 
expense  for  fuel  and  other  items,  but  at  the  same  time 
giving  to  the  pupils  many  advantages  that  they  could 
never  get  in  the  rural  school.  Although  this  is  the 
tendency,  country  schools  will  have  to  be  built  for  many 
years  to  come,  and  there  are  a  number  of  important 
points  to  be  observed  in  the  selection  of  a  rural  site. 


LOCATION   OF   SCHOOLS  3 

The  character  of  the  soil  bears  an  important  relation 
to  the  healthfulness  of  the  site.  Land  which  consists 
largely  of  clay  is  always  to  be  avoided,  because  it  takes 
up  moisture  and  holds  it,  making  the  surroundings 
damp  and  unhealthful.  Peaty  soil  also  holds  moisture, 
and  should  it  be  necessary  to  locate  on  either  clay  or 
peat,  the  greatest  care  and  skill  must  be  exercised  in 
draining  the  lot.  Sand  and  gravel  are  easily  drained, 
and  therefore  should  be  selected  if  possible.  Rock  may 
furnish  a  good  foundation  for  a  site,  if  it  is  not  so 
formed  as  to  retain  surface  water.  A  lot  that  is  of 
rock,  if  at  the  foot  or  on  the  side  of  a  hill,  may  become 
moist  at  unexpected  times  and  places.  A  thorough 
geological  study  is  therefore  necessary  before  deciding 
upon  a  rock  site.  In  fact,  in  the  selection  of  any  site, 
it  is  essential  that  the  survey  should  extend  over  all 
the  adjoining  country.  A  study  of  the  school  lot  alone 
should  never  form  the  basis  of  selection.  All  the 
neighboring  lots  and  the  surrounding  country  should 
be  included  in  the  examination. 

The  general  slope  of  the  land  in  the  vicinity  of  a 
school  lot  should  be  such  as  to  insure  perfect  and  proper 
drainage.  Swampy  land,  duck  ponds,  piggeries,  or  any 
other  conditions  that  would  give  rise  to  temporary  or 
permanent  moisture,  naturally  are  not  the  chosen  com- 
panions of  the  ideal  school  lot.  At  certain  times  of  the 
year,  when  the  organic  matter  is  in  a  state  of  putrefac- 
tion, such  places  would  give  rise  to  very  unhealthful 
conditions.  It  is  not  desirable  to  place  a  school  on  or 
below  the  north  slope  of  a  steep  hill,  because  in  the  win- 
ter months  the  sunlight  could  have  very  little  if  any 
access  to  the  schoolhouse.  No  large  trees  should  stand 


4  SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

on  the  south  or  west  sides  of  the.  building,  nor  should 
they  stand  on  the  other  sides  if  they  be  near  enough  to 
check  the  free  passage  of  air  and  light  to  the  windows. 
A  good  and  sufficient  water  supply  must  be  obtain- 
able at  all  times.  .This  is  often  overlooked  until  after 
the  building  is  completed,  and  then  it  not  infrequently 
happens  that  it  is  a  matter  of  great  expense  to  secure 
good  water.  It  is  really  one  of  the  most  important  fac- 
tors in  the  selection  of  a  country  school  site.  Children 
are  apt  to  crave  a  good  deal  of  water,  and  it  should  be 
accessible  to  them  at  all  times.  At  no  other  period  of 
healthy  life  is  the  want  of  a  drink  of  water  so  cruelly 
felt.  Without  it  children  are  deprived  of  one  of  their 
most  necessary  foods,  upon  which  the  maintenance  of 
good  health  depends.  No  water  should  be  supplied  that 
is  not  absolutely  pure  and  above  suspicion. 

LOCATION    OF    THE    CITY    SCHOOL 

The  selection  of  a  site  for  the  city  schoolhouse  is  not 
usually  open  to  much  choice.  Few  good  lots  can  be 
obtained,  and  perhaps  the  prices  of  these  are  of  such 
a  nature  as  to  make  them  impossibilities  to  the  average 
school  board.  But  as  a  matter  of  fact,  in  the  city  even 
greater  discrimination  should  be  shown  in  choosing  a 
site  than  in  the  country.  The  number  of  factors  that 
tend  to  influence  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  build- 
ing in  the  city  is  far  greater  than  in  the  rural  section. 
Under  these  circumstances  it  becomes  a  very  impor- 
tant matter  to  decide  what  considerations  may  or 
may  not  be  disregarded  in  the  choice  of  a  convenient 
locality. 


LOCATION   OF   SCHOOLS  5 

It  is  not  uncommon  in  the  city  that  the  choice  of  lots 
includes  some  that  are  designated  as  "made"  or  "filled" 
lands.  This  filling  may  consist  of  street  sweepings, 
house  refuse,  and  garbage.  The  gradual  putrefaction 
of  this  organic  matter  would  at  times  give  rise  to  bad 
odors  which  would  make  the  school  yard  unhealthful, 
and  they  might  even  affect  the  building  itself.  There- 
fore, such  sites  should  be  avoided  if  possible  ;  but  if  it 
ever  becomes  necessary  to  use  "filled"  land,  every  pre- 
caution must  be  taken  to  shut  out  these  odors  of  putre- 
faction by  carefully  paving  or  cementing  the  whole 
school  yard.  If  this  be  thoroughly  done,  the  principal 
objection  to  "made"  land  has  been  removed  so  far  as 
the  sanitary  conditions  are  concerned,  but  there  are 
serious  objections  to  this  pavement  or  cement  if  the 
yard  is  to  be  used  as  a  playground  for  the  children. 

The  relation  of  the  surrounding  objects  to  the  city 
school  is  of  far  greater  importance  than  in  the  country. 
Naturally  the  environment  of  the  city  site  affects  it  much 
more  directly. 

It  is  not  advisable  to  locate  the  school  building  on  a 
main  street.  This  is  particularly  true  if  the  street  in 
question  is  paved  with  cobblestones  or  other  form  of 
noisy  pavement.  Noise  is  distracting  to  the  children 
and  seriously  affects  the  nerves  of  both  pupils  and 
teachers.  Children,  more  particularly  the  younger  ones, 
are  subjected  to  great  dangers  in  such  a  locality  from 
the  large  amount  of  traffic  always  prevalent  on  main 
thoroughfares. 

Neither  should  a  schoolhouse  be  built  in  the  vicinity 
of  a  noisy  factory  or  of  an  establishment  otherwise  offen- 
sive, and  after  the  schoolhouse  is  located  and  completed, 


6  SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

the  city  should  prohibit  the  erection  of  any  such  nuisance 
in  the  neighborhood.  Naturally  anything  as  noisy  as  a 
railway  station  or  saw-mill,  or  anything  as  bad-smelling 
as  a  soap  factory,  tanyard,  rubber  works,  glue  factory  or 
gas  works,  is  exceedingly  objectionable  as  aschoolhouse 
neighbor.  Stables,  slaughter  houses,  and  markets  may 
be  objectionable  and  often  very  unsanitary,  if  proper 
disposition  of  the  refuse  is  not  made.  Hospitals  and 
cemeteries  are  best  avoided ;  also  police  stations  and 
fire-engine  houses,  where  sudden  and  distracting  activ- 
ity is  apt  to  occur,  are  best  far  away  from  the  schools. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  dwell  upon  the  importance  of 
avoiding  a  section  that  is  infested  with  any  of  the  moral 
nuisances  common  to  the  cities.  The  social  and  moral 
character  of  the  vicinity  has  a  great  influence  on  the 
school  children.  This  matter  should  be  carefully  inves- 
tigated, and  any  doubtful  locality  religiously  avoided. 

No  building  should  stand  within  sixty  feet  of  the 
schoolhouse  on  any  side,  and  large  trees  or  any  obstruc- 
tion that  could  prevent  the  free  access  of  both  fresh  air 
and  direct  sunlight  to  the  school  building  should  be  re- 
moved. Sunlight  is  nature's  great  disinfectant,  and  it 
must  not  be  prevented  from  doing  its  work  of  purifica- 
tion in  and  about  the  schools.  The  necessity  of  a  play- 
ground is  conceded,  and  no  site  should  receive  serious 
consideration  where  such  cannot  be  provided.  Outdoor 
recreation  must  not  be  discouraged  or  hindered  by  the 
lack  of  a  proper  place  for  wholesome  play. 

Probably  no  country  gives  less  attention  to  the  careful 
location  of  schools  than  our  own  United  States.  In 
many  countries  there  are  strict  laws  regarding  it,  and 
certain  men  or  commissions  are  appointed  to  attend  to 


LOCATION   OF   SCHOOLS  7 

such  matters.  For  example,  in  Scotland,  under  the  regu- 
lations of  the  Educational  Act  of  1872,  schools  must  be 
placed  in  a  healthy  neighborhood,  as  far  as  possible  from 
noise,  and  having  an  uncovered  area  of  at  least  twelve 
hundred  square  yards.  In  Belgium,  all  plans  and 
schemes  of  schools,  including  their  location,  construc- 
tion, opening,  ventilation,  warming,  lighting,  drainage, 
and  closets,  etc.,  must  be  examined  and  approved  by  the 
Bureau  d' Hygiene.  In  Germany,  plans  for  new  school 
buildings,  or  alterations  in  school  buildings  already  built, 
must  be  examined  and  approved  by  a  district  doctor. 
He  is  intrusted  with  the  superintendence  of  school 
hygiene  in  general.  In  Vienna,  the  site  chosen  for  the 
school  cannot  be  definitely  accepted  until  the  doctor  has 
given  his  opinion  as  to  the  suitability  of  the  land  from  a 
sanitary  standpoint.  The  plan  must  then  be  examined 
by  a  commission  composed  of  men  skilled  in  teaching, 
in  technology,  and  in  medical  hygiene. 


CHAPTER   II1 

CONSTRUCTION    AND    REQUIREMENTS    OF    SCHOOL 
BUILDINGS 

THE  development  of  our  public  school  system,  of 
which  the  schoolhouse  is  the  outward  and  concrete  ex- 
pression, belongs  to  this  century.  With  the  exception 
of  residences,  there  is  at  the  present  day  no  kind  of 
buildings  in  which  all  classes  of  community  take  a  deeper 
interest.  The  doctor,  the  architect,  the  teacher,  the 
parent,  and  the  taxpayer,  all  contribute  their  criticism 
and  offer  their  advice. 

The  architectural  development  of  the  school  building 
has  not,  however,  progressed  as  rapidly  as  that  of  most 
other  parts  of  our  educational  system.  It  is  of  com- 
paratively recent  date,  perhaps  within  the  last  twenty 
years,  that  schoolhouse  architecture  has  received  the 
attention  which  such  an  important  subject  demands. 

The  school  age  includes  the  period  of  the  greatest 
physical  development.  During  this  period  the  child 
spends  a  large  part  of  his  time  within  the  school  build- 
ing. It  is  desirable  that  he  should  not  be  subject  to 
physical,  mental,  or  moral  detriment  by  reason  of  its 
bad  arrangement  or  faulty  architectural  features. 

In  Europe,  prior  to  the  thirteenth  century,  the  schools 

1  This  chapter  is  written  by  Mr.  Arthur  Bohn,  architect,  of  Indianapolis, 
who  also  kindly  furnishes  plates  and  illustrations. 

8 


THE   SCHOOL   BUILDING  9 

were  closely  connected  with  the  church,  were  generally 
conducted  in  the  monasteries,  and  were  chiefly  devoted 
to  the  education  and  training  of  the  clergy  and  nobility. 
There  were  not,  in  our  sense  of  the  term,  schools  for 
the  benefit  of  the  common  people. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  thirteenth  and  the  four- 
teenth centuries  there  began  to  be  established  schools 
for  the  people,  in  which  the  elements  of  reading  and  writ- 
ing were  taught.  These  feeble  organizations  received 
a  quickening  impulse  when  Martin  Luther  took  up  the 
cause  of  education,  and  in  1524  published  a  pamphlet 
addressed  to  the  cities  and  towns,  urging  the  advantage 
and  necessity  of  establishing  more  common  schools. 
Throughout  Northern  Europe  from  this  time  there  was 
a  gradual,  although  slow,  improvement  and  widening  of 
the  scope  of  common  schools.  , 

Up  to  this  time  it  had  been  deemed  proper  to  conduct  a 
school  in  any  place,  or  in  any  part  of  a  building,  where 
shelter  could  be  found.  With  the  growth  of  population, 
and  the  growing  importance  of  the  common  people, 
came  also  the  desire  and  necessity  for  special  buildings 
for  school  purposes.  These  early  buildings  were  of  a 
primitive  character,  planned  without  reference  to  hy- 
gienic laws,  and  devoid  of  special  adaptation  to  the  pur- 
pose for  which  they  were  to  be  used. 

It  is  interesting  to  note,  however,  that  in  Germany,  as 
early  as  1649,  Josef  Furtenbach  published  a  book  in 
which  he  made  a  plea  for  the  construction  of  healthful 
schoolhouses,  and  pointed  out  that  schoolrooms  should 
be  cheerful  and  airy,  and  that  each  child  should  have  a 
liberal  allowance  of  floor  space.  It  was  a  long  time, 
however,  before  these  good  rules  were  put  into  practice. 


10         SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

As  the  education  of  the  common  people  began  to 
spread,  its  far  reaching  influence  was  recognized.  Vari- 
ous nations  saw  therein  their  chief  element  of  strength, 
the  stability  of  their  governments,  and  power  to  com- 
pete with  one  another.  Governments  took  an  increas- 
ing interest  in  public  education,  and  at  the  beginning 
of  this  century  all  civilized  countries  had  active  laws  for 
the  care  and  fostering  of  educational  systems. 

SANITARY    LAWS 

The  better  knowledge  of  hygiene  and  its  recognized 
importance  have  also  brought  about  the  enactment  of 
laws  relative  to  the  proper  hygienic  construction  of 
school  buildings.  In  this  country,  particularly  in  the 
Eastern  states,  —  foremost  the  state  of  Massachusetts, 
—  these  laws  embody  much  of  the  present  advanced 
knowledge  of  school  architecture  and  sanitary  science. 
In  Massachusetts  public  attention  was  early  drawn  to 
the  importance  of  this  subject  by  the  writings  of  Horace 
Mann,  who,  in  1837,  said  that  not  one-third  of  the  school- 
houses  of  that  state  were  fit  for  habitation.  The  fol- 
lowing year  his  report  as  Secretary  of  the  Board  of 
Education  discussed  at  length  the  subject  of  better 
schoolhouses,  and  their  heating  and  ventilation. 

While  in  a  few  of  the  Middle  and  Western  states 
there  are  not  as  yet  particular  laws  defining  the  con- 
struction of  schoolhouses,  much  is  included  in  the  gen- 
eral building  laws  of  these  states,  which  the  authorities 
enforce  for  the  safety  of  the  children,  and  with  the 
power  given  to  vigilant  state  Boards  of  Health  much  is 
done  for  proper  sanitation. 


THE   SCHOOL   BUILDING  II 

In  the  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Education 
for  1893-94  is  a  summary  of  the  sanitary  legislation 
affecting  schools  in  the  United  States.  From  this  re- 
port it  appears  that  thirty-three  states  and  territories 
had  at  that  time  enacted  laws  upon  the  subject,  and 
in  sixteen  of  the  states  provision  is  made  for  the  in- 
spection of  schoolhouse  plans  or  buildings  by  some 
higher  authority  than  the  local  Board,  and  in  the  major- 
ity of  the  states  are  statutes,  more  or  less  specific,  re- 
quiring proper  sanitation.  Since  the  publication  of  this 
report  several  states  which  had  not  previously  passed 
laws  upon  this  subject,  have  enacted  them. 

The  last  decade  has  brought  about  a  greater  willing- 
ness on  the  part  of  school  authorities  and  taxpayers  to 
consider  these  matters.  This  change  of  attitude  has 
been  due  to  several  causes,  among  which  may  be  enu- 
merated the  conclusions  of  the  International  Educational 
Congress  held  in  1880,  the  reports  of  the  sessions  of 
the  International  Congress  of  Hygiene,  and  the  collec- 
tion of  statistics  showing  the  death-rate  of  children  of 
school  age  in  American  cities  as  compared  with  Euro- 
pean cities.  These  statistics  showed  that  the  death- 
rate  among  school  children  in  America  is  higher  than 
in  Europe,  presumably  for  the  reason  that  hitherto  we 
have  paid  less  attention  to  the  proper  hygienic  construc- 
tion of  school  buildings. 

THE    FINANCIAL    PROBLEM 

Owing  to  the  rapid  growth  of  population  and  to 
the  enforcement  of  the  truancy  laws,  there  has  been 
such  rapid  increase  in  the  number  of  pupils  for  whom 


12         SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

accommodations  must  be  provided,  that,  although  im- 
mense sums  are  annually  spent  for  new  buildings,  nearly 
all  communities,  large  and  small,  have  within  the  last 
few  years  been  unable  to  provide  school  room  propor- 
tionate to  this  increase,  and  many  expedients  have  been 
resorted  to,  —  such  as  half-day  sessions  and  the  renting 
of  vacant  rooms. 

Naturally,  where  school  authorities  have  had  to  face 
the  problem  of  inadequate  accommodations,  they  have 
not  always  had  the  financial  resources  or  the  freedom  of 
choice  necessary  to  secure  the  most  desirable  form  and 
arrangement  of  school  buildings.  Yet,  in  the  majority 
of  instances,  the  new  buildings  have  been  in  every  way 
superior  to  those  that  were  built  a  few  years  ago. 

The  public  school  system  has  risen  to  be  the  most 
important  department  of  our  government,  and  the  num- 
ber of  people  connected  with  it  and  the  sums  of  money 
which  are  expended  are  enormous.  For  the  school 
year  1896-97  the  expenditure  for  public  schools  was 
$187,320,602.  For  several  years  the  number  of  new 
school  buildings  erected  has  been  nearly  6000  per  year, 
and  the  annual  increase  in  the  value  of  school  property 
has  been  nearly  $14,000,000. 

It  is  interesting  to  note,  for  example,  what  is  done  by 
a  single  great  city,  such  as  New  York.  The  budget 
for  schools  for  1897  was  about  $6,000,000,  and  the 
appropriation  for  schoolhouses  for  the  same  year  was 
$10,000,000,  beside  $2,500,000  for  the  erection  of  four 
new  high  school  buildings. 

The  city  of  Chicago  has  recently  purchased  sites  for 
the  erection  of  thirteen  new  school  buildings.  The 
president  of  the  School  Board  states  that  these  build- 


THE   SCHOOL   BUILDING  13 

ings,  which  will  cost  $4,000,000,  will  do  little  more  than 
care  for  the  annual  increase  in  population. 

In  smaller  towns  public  education  forms  relatively  an 
equally  important  factor,  as  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
the  town  of  Anderson,  Indiana,  —  with  a  population  of 
20,000,  —  annually  erects  one  building,  containing  from 
eight  to  ten  schoolrooms. 


CONSTRUCTION    REQUIREMENTS 

The  schoolhouse  should  be  built  substantially,  of 
enduring  materials,  and  with  the  best  workmanship. 
The  first  outlay  for  the  cost  of  any  building  erected  in 
this  manner  is  but  a  small  per  cent  above  one  erected 
with  cheaper  materials  and  poor  workmanship.  The 
difference  in  the  first  cost  is  more  than  saved  in  a  few 
years  by  reduced  cost  of  repairs ;  this  is  particularly 
true  of  the  schoolhouse  by  reason  of  the  severe  wear 
and  tear  to  which  it  is  subject  by  the  nature  of  its 
usage. 

All  schoolhouses  should  be  built  of  brick.  Frame 
houses  are  first  of  all  a  great  source  of  danger  from  fire. 
The  walls  being  thinner  and  more  porous,  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  room  is  more  subject  to  changes  of  heat  and 
cold ;  the  economy  of  fuel  in  cold  weather  on  this  score 
forms  quite  an  item.  The  necessity  of  repeatedly  paint- 
ing a  frame  building  forms  a  continuous  source  of  ex- 
pense and  annoyance.  A  brick  schoolhouse  should  not 
only  have  its  exterior  walls  of  brick,  but  all  the  main 
interior  partition  walls,  and  the  walls  inclosing  stair- 
ways, should  be  of  the  same  material.  The  expedient 
of  cheapening  the  building  by  making  interior  walls  of 


14         SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

frame  is  too  often  resorted  to,  with  the  result  that  by 
reason  of  shrinkage  of  the  interior  frame  walls  and  the 
stability  of  the  outside  brick  walls,  the  plastering  of 
walls  and  ceilings  becomes  badly  cracked  and  floors  are 
thrown  out  of  level,  and  in  case  of  fire  it  may  spread 
so  rapidly  as  to  endanger  the  lives  of  the  children. 

The  floors  of  the  schoolroom  should  be  stiff  and 
sound-proof.  Where  the  floor  is  constructed  with  a 
single  span  of  joists,  25  feet  or  more  in  length,  it  is 
likely  to  have  considerable  vibration  unless  the  joists 
are  heavy  and  closely  laid.  This  continuous  vibration 
in  the  course  of  time  will  deteriorate  the  plastering  on 
the  ceiling  and  cause  it  to  fall,  to  the  great  danger  of 
the  occupants.  Many  architects  now  remedy  this  by 
laying  across  the  room  one  or  two  steel  beams  upon 
which  the  wooden  joists  rest,  thus  diminishing  the  span. 
All  floors  should  be  sound-proofed,  which  is  best  done 
with  mortar  deafening  between  the  joists.  Where  econ- 
omy forms  an  object,  double  flooring  may  be  used  with 
a  heavy  layer  of  building  paper  between  the  upper  and 
under  flooring.  This  is  not  as  good  as  mortar  deafen- 
ing, but  is  much  cheaper  and  still  very  effective.  The 
upper  or  finished  floor  for  schoolrooms  should  be  hard 
wood,  preferably  oak.  This  should  also  be  used  in  the 
corridors,  if  it  is  not  possible  to  make  these  floors  of 
tile.  The  basement  floor  should  be  cement  or  asphalt. 

Even  where  the  attic  is  not  used  it  should  be  floored 
over  with  common  boards.  This  will  admit  of  using  the 
attic  for  storage,  and  will  also  help  to  keep  the  rooms 
warmer  in  winter  and  cooler  in  summer.  The  cost  is 
not  very  great  and  in  a  few  years  will  pay  for  itself  in 
economy  of  fuel.  Where  there  is  no  such  flooring,  the 


THE   SCHOOL   BUILDING  15 

ceiling  will  become  very  much  chilled  and  will  mate- 
rially interfere  with  the  working  of  the  heating  and  ven- 
tilating system  in  rooms  so  exposed. 

All  the  interior  walls  should  be  plastered  with  good 
common  mortar,  except  a  dado  to  the  height  of  about  four 
feet,  which  should  be  made  of  cement  mortar  to  with- 
stand the  rough  usage  to  which  the  walls  to  this  height 
are  subjected.  This  cement  mortar  dado  should  be  in 
all  schoolrooms  and  corridors,  and  along  stairways.  In 
many  modern  schoolhouses  this  dado  is  made  of  glazed 
brick,  which  is  of  course  still  better,  being  more  sani- 
tary and  more  durable.  The  great  expense  of  such 
work,  however,  will  bar  its  general  adoption.  Wood 
wainscoting  should  not  be  used  for  sanitary  reasons  ;  it 
has  been  found  in  many  cases  to  form  a  home  for 
vermin.  Where  a  mortar  dado  is  used,  it  should  be 
painted  with  oil  paint. 

The  interior  finish  should  be  hardwood  reduced  to  a 
minimum   in  size,  and  with  few   and   plain   moldings  ; 
large  and  projecting  moldings,  which  are  inacces- 
sible and  may  catch  dust,  should  be  avoided.     It 
is  still  better  to  avoid  wood  finish  around  windows 
and   doors  altogether,  and  simply  finish  around 
these  with  hard  plastering  with  rounded  corners. 
In  many  of  the  later  schoolhouses  this  is  now 
adopted.     In  this  regard  the 
principles  and  usage  applied 

to  the  treatment  of  hospitals 
FIG.  i.  — COVE  BASE  MOLDING.  1111  i  r  i  i  i 

also  hold  good  for  the  school- 
room. The  base  should  be  as  low  as  possible,  and  should 
finish  against  the  floor  with  a  cove,  as  shown  by  the  ac- 
companying sketch  (Fig.  i);  this  admits  of  easy  sweep- 


1 6         SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND    DECORATION 


ing  and  avoids  accumulation  of  dirt  in  the  angles.     This 

style  of  base  is  used  in  the  Boston  school  buildings 

throughout. 

The  windows  should  be  constructed  with  great  care, 

filling  in  behind  the  frames  with  mortar,  and  where  the 

wood  sills  join  the 
stone  sills  it  is  well  to 
insert  a  small  steel 
strip,  as  shown  by  ac- 
companying sketch 
(Fig.  2).  The  mor- 
tar and  the  steel  strip 
will  check  draughts. 
On  the  exposed  sides 
of  the  building  it  is 
well  to  provide  double 
sash  as  described  in 

FIG.  2. -WINDOW  SILL.  Chapter    III,    under 

heating. 


PROTECTION    FROM    FIRE 

The  causes  of  fire  in  schoolhouses  are  many ;  one  of 
the  most  common  causes  is  to  be  found  in  the  furnace 
room.  Investigation  of  such  fires  has  generally  revealed 
the  fact,  however,  that  the  furnaces  have  been  cheaply 
and  faultily  installed.  In  many  cases  the  basement 
was  not  deep  enough  properly  to  receive  the  furnaces 
and  the  hot  air  pipes,  the  top  of  the  furnace  being 
jammed  close  to  the  wood  ceiling-joists ;  sometimes  the 
ceiling  of  the  basement  and  furnace  room  was  not  even 
plastered,  the  wood  being  directly  exposed.  Where  the 


THE   SCHOOL   BUILDING  17 

building  is  reasonably  well  built  and  the  heating  plant 
properly  installed,  there  should  be  little  danger  from 
this  source. 

Schoolhouses  which  are  not  more  than  two  stories 
high,  containing  from  eight  to  twelve  rooms,  and  built 
with  brick  partition  walls  with  sufficient  stairways  and 
exits,  but  with  wooden  floor  and  roof  construction  of 
sufficient  strength,  seem  to  be  reasonably  safe  for  chil- 
dren to  occupy.  There  are  few  cases  on  record  where 
the  spread  of  fire  in  such  buildings  was, so  rapid  that 
the  children  could  not  be  removed  with  safety. 

In  a  large  number  of  schoolhouses,  apparatus  such  as 
stand  pipes,  fire  pails,  and  fire  extinguishers,  is  provided 
to  fight  fires,  but  experience  has  shown  that  not  much 
reliance  should  be  placed  on  this.  In  many  schools 
it  is  customary  to  have  so-called  fire  drills,  for  the 
orderly  dismissal  of  the  children  in  case  of  such  an 
event,  and  there  are  instances  on  record  where  these 
have  been  effectually  executed  in  actual  need.  More 
effective  than  these  fire  drills  and  other  precautionary 
measures,  however,  is  the  sense  of  security  among  teach- 
ers and  children,  which  will  tend  to  avoid  such  panics  as 
often  happen  with  disastrous  results,  even  where  there 
is  'no  need  for  alarm.  It  would  be  well  therefore  to 
build  at  least  all  stairways  fireproof  and  enclosed  in 
brick  walls. 

In  schoolhouses  that  are  three  stories  or  more  in 
height,  all  stairways  should  be  fire-proof,  well  enclosed, 
and  if  possible  all  corridors  should  be  of  fire-proof  con- 
struction. This  method  is  now  being  generally  adopted, 
and  should  not  add  much  to  the  per  cent  of  cost  of  an 
otherwise  well-built  building.  The  revised  building 


18         SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

laws  of  Boston  require  that  all  schoolhouses  built  in 
that  city  must  be  entirely  of  fire-proof  construction.  In 
Indiana,  according  to  the  new  law,  all  schoolhouses  of 
three  stories  or  more  must  be  provided  with  fire  escapes. 

THE    EXTERIOR    DESIGN 

The  exterior  of  a  schoolhouse  should  possess  merit 
and  artistic  excellence  in  architecture,  should  be  beauti- 
ful and  dignified  in  design,  and  express  the  purpose  for 
which  it  is  used.  Artistic  results  can  be  achieved  by  a 
skillful  designer,  through  good  proportion  and  careful 
disposition  of  masses.  An  artistic,  beautiful,  and  well- 
balanced  design  does  not  necessarily  increase  the  cost 
of  a  building.  All  architectural  and  decorative  forms 
about  the  schoolhouse  should  be  refined ;  it  costs  no 
more,  nor  does  it  take  more  material,  to  execute  beau- 
tiful forms  than  ugly  forms.  The  schoolhouse  should 
possess  all  the  characteristics  described,  and  should  exert 
an  elevating  and  educational  influence. 

The  most  prominent  feature  and  determining  factor 
in  the  appearance  of  a  schoolhouse  is  the  quality  and 
color  of  the  material  chosen  for  the  exterior  walls. 
Entire  outside  walls  built  of  stone  give  the  building  a 
substantial  and  monumental  appearance,  but  stone  is 
seldom  employed  on  account  of  expense.  Next  to  stone, 
both  in  cost  and  appearance,  comes  pressed  brick. 
Wall  surfaces  of  pressed  brick,  when  laid  up  in  colored 
mortar  to  match  the  brick,  have  much  the  same  qual- 
ity of  uniformity  as  those  of  stone.  The  great  advantage 
of  pressed  brick  over  common  brick  is  the  possibility 
of  choice  in  color.  A  building  of  plain  gray  or  buff 


THE   SCHOOL   BUILDING  19 

pressed  brick,  trimmed  with  some  cut  stone  or  terra 
cotta,  always  makes  a  refined  appearance  and  will  harmo- 
nize with  any  surroundings.  With  modern  facilities  for 
the  manufacture  of  pressed  brick,  the  additional  cost 
over  common  brick  is  not  such  a  great  item.  Where 
common  brick  must  be  used  on  the  score  of  economy, 
these  should  be  laid  up  with  red  mortar  to  match  the 
brick,  thereby  giving  the  wall  surfaces  uniformity  and 
the  appearance  of  solidity.  A  building  of  red  pressed 
or  common  brick  is,  however,  an  ugly  blotch  and  a  dis- 
turbing element  to  its  surroundings,  and  is  only  fairly 
acceptable  where  it  is  in  an  open  space  surrounded  with 
a  great  deal  of  greenery. 

The  exterior  design  of  a  schoolhouse  should  be  a 
truthful  expression  of  the  plan  and  the  purpose  for 
which  it  stands,  and  all  such  accessories  as  sham 
gables,  sham  brick  towers  partly  resting  on  inside  stud 
walls,  should  be  avoided,  and  the  use  of  galvanized  iron 
for  architectural  features  should  be  reduced  to  a  mini- 
mum. 

The  requirements  of  a  modern  schoolhouse  are  many 
and  complex  in  their  character,  and  demand  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  working  of  schools  on  the  part  of  the 
architect,  and  conscientious  study  of  each  problem  in 
order  to  find  even  a  reasonably  satisfactory  solution  for 
all  demands. 

Among  the  principal  requirements  to  be  met  in  the 
planning  of  modern  schoolhouses  are  proper  hygienic 
and  sanitary  arrangements,  adequate  heating  and  venti- 
lation, correct  lighting  of  the  schoolroom,  an  interior 
arrangement  that  will  aid  modern  methods  of  school 
work  and  facilitate  discipline. 


20         SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 


THE    INTERIOR    DESIGN 

The  planning  of  schoolhouses  is  based,  first  of  all,  on 
the  unit  of  all  schoolhouses,  that  is,  the  schoolroom. 
One  of  the  chief  determining  factors  in  designing 
such  buildings  is  the  size  of  the  room,  which  is 
established  by  the  maximum  number  of  pupils  to  be 
seated  in  it.  Experience  and  careful  consideration  of 
the  usefulness  of  instruction,  the  control  of  discipline, 
and  sanitary  reasons,  have  led  to  the  general  accept- 
ance of  not  more  than  45  pupils  as  the  best  number 
for  each  schoolroom.  A  good  size  and  proportion  of  a 
room  for  45  pupils  is  :  width,  24  or  25  feet,  length,  31 
feet.  The  story  height  should  be  from  13  to  14  feet. 
These  dimensions  will  give  the  number  of  square  feet 
of  floor  space  and  cubic  feet  of  air  space  required  by 
hygienic  laws  and  described  more  fully  in  Chapter  III. 

The  doors  of  a  schoolroom  should  swing  outward.  It 
is  well  to  put  a  large  transom  over  the  door  for  the 
purpose  of  ventilation.  Every  well-arranged  school- 
room should  be  provided  with  a  cabinet  or  closet  for 
placing  books  and  the  utensils  used  for  school  work. 
These  cabinets  are  often  arranged  to  be  placed  in  the 
wall,  but  in  such  instances  they  must  often  of  necessity 
be  so  shallow  as  to  be  of  little  use,  and  generally 
cut  into  valuable  blackboard  space.  Plate  III  shows  a 
cabinet  built  separately  and  set  at  the  rear  wall,  where 
it  also  forms  an  ornament  to  the  room. 

Next  in  importance  to  the  schoolroom  are  the  cor- 
ridors, stairways,  and  entrances,  and  the  proper  size 
and  arrangement  of  these  form  an  important  factor  in 
promoting  discipline  and  in  caring  for  the  safety  of  the 


=     13 
I     > 


! 


I 

g 


THE    SCHOOL   BUILDING  21 

occupants.  The  entrances,  vestibules,  and  corridors 
should  be  of  liberal  dimensions ;  the  latter  should  have 
an  abundance  of  light  and  be  cheerful  in  aspect ;  it  is 
also  desirable  to  give  to  them  such  decorative  features 
and  large  proportions  that  they  may  express  the  noble 
purpose  for  which  the  school  building  stands.  The  ves- 
tibules and  corridors,  by  reason  of  their  dimensions  and 
light,  form  a  good  architectural  frame  for  the  hanging 
of  pictures  and  the  disposition  of  casts  where  they  can 
often  be  shown  to  better  advantage  than  in  the  rooms ; 
provision  for  these  should  be  made  in  the  original 
design.  Where  corridors  are  long,  they  should  not  be 
less  than  10  or  12  feet  wide,  and  all  corridors  should 
have  direct  light. 

Every  entrance  should  be  provided  with  a  vestibule 
to  which  there  should  be,  besides  the  outside  doors,  a 
set  of  inner  storm  doors  which  will  prevent  the  direct 
cold  coming  into  the  corridors  and  keep  them  free  from 
draughts.  All  of  these  doors  should  swing  outward. 

When  possible,  the  staircases  should  be  built  of  iron 
throughout,  having  the  treads  either  roughed  or  fitted 
with  some  of  the  recently  invented  lead  and  steel  treads. 
The  risers  for  the  staircase  in  a  schoolhouse  should  not 
be  'more  than  7  inches  high,  and  the  treads  not  less 
than  1 1  inches  wide.  A  good  proportion  is  6  inches 
rise  and  12  inches  tread.  The  balusters  and  rails, 
where  these  are  used,  should  be  constructed  strongly 
and  put  up  firmly,  so  that  they  may  not  give  way 
during  a  panic.  Many  schoolhouse  architects  lay  great 
stress  on  isolating  the  stairs  as  much  as  possible,  and 
advocate  box  stairs  enclosed  with  brick  walls.  Such 
stairways,  however,  do  not  present  a  good  appearance, 


22         SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

and  rob  the  architect  of  one  of  his  best  opportuni- 
ties to  develop  such  an  attractive  architectural  feature 
as  a  grand  and  open  staircase.  Where  there  are  suf- 
ficient stairways,  and  the  building  is  not  more  than 
two  or  three  stories  high,  it  would  seem  safe  to  build 
the  open  staircase.  Every  staircase  should  have  a 
landing  for  each  story.  Winding  stairways  should  not 
be  used  anywhere. 

The  cloakroom  or  wardrobe  is  a  necessary  adjunct  to 
the  schoolroom.  There  are  at  present  three  or  four 
methods  in  common  use  for  the  reception  of  the  cloth- 
ing. One  is  the  cloakroom  adjoining  the  schoolroom, 
with  a  door  leading  from  the  schoolroom  to  the  cloak- 
room, and  a  door  leading  from  the  latter  to  the  corri- 
dor. This  method  adds  considerable  to  the  area  and 
cost  of  the  building.  In  primary  schools  it  has  many 
advantages  and  should  be  used.  For  higher  grade 
schools  the  garments  are  all  concentrated  in  one 
or  more  rooms,  usually  situated  in  the  basement.  In 
such  instances  many  of  these  cloakrooms  are  provided 
with  individual  lockers,  with  key  or  combination  locks. 
This  latter  plan  is  expensive  and  complicated  in  its 
working. 

Another  plan,  and  one  which  is  considerably  used 
in  the  East,  is  the  ventilated  wardrobe  arranged  in 
the  corridor  along  the  outside  of  the  schoolroom  wall. 
These  wardrobes  are  heated  and  ventilated  with  the 
main  halls,  thus  saving  considerable  expense.  They  are 
easily  accessible  and  enable  the  designer  to  cut  down  the 
total  area  of  the  building  considerably,  and  otherwise 
facilitate  the  planning. 

The   toilet    rooms   should   be    conveniently   located. 


PLATE   IV.  — STAIRWAY    LANDING. 


PLATE  IV. -ASSEMBLY   HALL. 


THE   SCHOOL   BUILDING  23 

Usually  they  are  placed  in  the  basement,  where  water 
and  sewerage  systems  are  to  be  had.  Where  it  is 
necessary  to  separate  the  toilet  rooms  from  the  main 
building,  they  should  be  connected  with  it  by  closed 
passageways,  so  as  not  to  expose  the  children  to  the 
inclemency  of  the  weather. 

The  methods  of  furnishing  the  toilet  rooms  and  the 
styles  of  fixtures  to  be  used  are  described  fully  under 
Chapter  IV. 

In  addition  to  the  requirements  of  a  schoolhouse  de- 
scribed above,  the  following  rooms  and  provisions  are 
desirable,  and  are  now  usually  incorporated  in  new 
buildings :  — 

Principal's  office, 

Teachers'  retiring  room, 

Recitation  rooms, 

Assembly  hall, 

Store  rooms, 

Lunch  rooms, 

Bicycle  rooms, 

Rooms  for  manual  training. 

SPECIAL    PROBLEMS 

,      One,  Two,  Four,  and  Eight-room  Buildings. 

The  number  of  one-room  or  district  school  buildings 
being  erected,  and  the  aggregate  amount  of  money  in- 
vested in  them,  is  relatively  large,  particularly  in  the 
more  thinly  populated  Middle  and  Western  states, 
where  they  form  and  will  form  for  the  near  future,  at 
least,  an  important  part  of  our  schoolhouse  architec- 
ture. The  great  wave  of  agitation  going  over  our  coun- 
try for  the  erection  of  better  schoolhouses,  demanding 


24         SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

that  there  be  incorporated  into  these  buildings  our 
modern  and  enlightened  ideals,  applies  with  particular 
force  to  the  little  one-room  district  schoolhouse.  If  it 
is  true  that  the  good  architectural  design  of  the  school- 
house,  with  its  thoughtfully  developed  plan  and  cheer- 
ful interior,  should  contribute  its  share  of  elevating 
influence  to  the  child,  and  be  the  source  of  a  pleasant 
reminiscence  in  after  life,  then  this  is  even  more  neces- 
sary in  a  small  community  where  other  outside  refining 
influences  and  opportunities  are  less  numerous  than  in 
the  larger  towns  and  cities. 

There  is  no  good  reason  why  the  lighting  of  the 
schoolroom  in  a  one-room  building  should  not  receive 
the  same  careful  study  as  that  of  the  rooms  in  a  larger 
building,  nor  is  there  any  reason  why  the  air  in  a  one- 
room  building  should  not  be  just  as  pure  as  that  of  the 
rooms  of  larger  buildings.  These  features  of  the  school- 
house  are  not  elements  of  cost,  or  at  least  not  to  the 
extent  that  is  often  assumed ;  where  these  requirements 
have  not  been  fulfilled,  it  is  usually  found  to  be  due  to 
a  lack  of  knowledge  of  their  importance,  or  to  a  want 
of  care  and  conscientious  performance  of  duty  by  those 
in  charge. 

It  often  seems  to  the  community  in  a  country  dis- 
trict that  it  requires  no  effort  or  sacrifice  on  the  part 
of  the  city  or  town  to  erect  a  school  building  that  meets 
all  modern  requirements  and  has  an  air  of  elegance.  If 
one  considers,  however,  that  the  city  or  town  has  not 
one,  but  many  buildings  to  erect,  it  becomes  clear  that 
the  burden  is  relatively  quite  as  heavy  in  the  towns  and 
cities  as  in  the  country  districts.  It  is  true,  however, 
that  the  comparative  cost  of  the  one-room  building  is 


THE   SCHOOL   BUILDING  25 

greater  than  that  of  a  many-room  building;  but  the 
total  cost  of  the  one-room  building  is  always  within 
reasonable  limits,  and  a  building  once  erected  will 
serve  for  many  years. 

The  brilliant  examples  cited  in  foregoing  chapters  of 
what  is  being  done,  should  incite  in  every  community 
the  desire  to  provide  for  every  new  schoolhouse,  at  least, 
those  features  which  are  now  generally  regarded  as 
necessary  for  the  welfare  of  the  children. 

The  obstacles  in  reaching  a  good  final  result  for  the 
one-room  schoolhouse  are  numerous.  One  of  the  chief 
difficulties  is  probably  the  fact  that,  because  the  greater 
constructional  features  which  enter  into  the  planning 
of  larger  buildings  do  not  arise  here,  it  seems  to  the 
minds  of  many  that  the  services  of  a  trained  architect 
are  not  required,  and  the  erection  of  the  little  school- 
house  is  often  left  to  the  neighboring  village  builder 
who  has  never  had  time  or  opportunity  for  the  devel- 
opment of  taste,  and  who  consequently  does  not  ap- 
preciate the  value  of  it,  and  whose  attention  has 
never  been  called  to  the  scientific  principles  of  school- 
house  architecture.  The  one-room  schoolhouse  prob- 
ably shares  that  same  indifference  which  is  usually  the 
lot -of  the  smaller  things  in  this  world.  In  the  one- 
room  schoolhouse  there  are  problems  quite  its  own,  not 
common  to  larger  buildings,  the  proper  solution  of 
which  is  worthy  of  the  best  efforts  of  a  trained  archi- 
tect, particularly  versed  in  schoolhouse  architecture. 

The  difficulty  in  the  way  of  finding  such  talent  con- 
veniently in  the  remote  school  districts,  and  the  element 
of  expense  which  such  work  entails,  have  led  the  school 
authorities  of  the  state  of  New  York  to  develop  with 


26         SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

great  care  a  normal  plan  of  a  one-room  school  building, 
which  was  put  in  such  form  to  be  conveniently  sent  to 
the  various  school  districts  of  the  state  that  desire  to 
avail  themselves  of  it.  These  plans  have  been  largely 
used  and  have  been  the  means  of  the  erection  of  better 
and  improved  schoolhouses.  In  other  cases  they  stimu- 
lated to  still  better  efforts,  and  many  communities  had 
plans  prepared  to  meet  their  particular  needs. 

Well-prepared  plans  can  be  used  to  better  advantage 
for  a  one-room  building  than  for  a  building  of  any  other 
size,  for  they  are  suited  to  almost  any  size  and  shape 
of  ground,  and  in  the  great  majority  of  cases  they  can 
be  readily  adapted  to  the  points  of  the  compass  for 
which  they  are  intended. 

There  is  probably  a  greater  tendency  to  build  the 
one-room  schoolhouses  of  frame  than  to  use  this  ma- 
terial for  the  larger  buildings.  The  reasons  for  this 
are :  first,  that  this  material  is  better  adapted  for  use 
in  small  buildings ;  further,  in  the  outlying  districts  lum- 
ber is  more  readily  to  be  had  than  brick  or  stone ;  and 
the  mistaken  idea  of  larger  economy  also  has  its  influ- 
ence. Among  the  district  schoolhouses  recently  erected, 
there  is  a  greater  percentage  of  substantial  brick  build- 
ings than  formerly,  and  with  the  rise  in  cost  of  lumber, 
by  reason  of  its  greater  scarcity,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
brick  district-school  buildings  will  become  general. 

The  schoolroom  of  the  one-room  building  is  usually 
larger  than  that  in  larger  buildings,  it  being  customary, 
and  often  necessary,  to  put  a  larger  number  of  children 
in  the  room  of  the  district  school.  From  fifty  to  sixty 
children  are  sometimes  compelled  to  attend  the  ungraded 
school,  the  latter  number  however  being  unusual. 


THE    SCHOOL    BUILDING  2/ 

In  the  one-room  building  it  is  possible  to  obtain  light 
from  both  sides,  and  in  some  plans  from  three  sides ; 
but  the  light  should  be  chiefly  from  one  side  —  the  left ; 
other  light  should  be  from  the  rear.  Windows  opposite 
those  along  the  side  of  chief  light  should  be  small  and 
placed  above  the  blackboards ;  they  should  serve  for  the 
purpose  of  ventilation  and  for  the  entrance  of  some 
rays  of  sunlight  if  the  house  is  so  situated  as  to  have 
the  main  source  of  light  from  the  north.  If  windows 
are  placed  in  the  rear  wall,  these  should  be  so  arranged 
as  not  to  be  objectionable  to  the  teacher,  who  will  have 
to  face  them  a  considerable  portion  of  the  day. 

In  many  of  the  more  recent  plans,  particularly  in  the 
East,  there  has  been  a  tendency  to  attach  the  toilet 
rooms  to  the  main  building.  While  this  has  many 
advantages  as  to  convenience,  especially  in  inclement 
weather,  it  is  quite  offset  where  there  is  no  sewerage  by 
the  very  objectionable  feature  of  having  the  toilets  so 
near;  and  where  the  most  thorough  ventilation  cannot 
be  provided  this  becomes  a  serious  consideration,  es- 
pecially in  warm  weather. 

Every  one-room  building  should  have  a  vestibule  with 
doors  from  the  outside  and  doors  from  the  vestibule  to 
the  schoolroom,  to  avoid  cold  draughts  into  the  latter. 
The  vestibule  should  be  as  large  and  spacious  as  possi- 
ble, and  where  a  furnace  is  used  it  should  have  a  small 
register  to  moderate  the  severe  cold. 

The  plans  shown  on  Plate  V,  taken  from  the  book 
on  schoolhouse  architecture  and  designed  by  Mr.  Warren 
R.  Briggs,  of  Bridgeport,  Conn.,  show  the  toilet  rooms 
in  the  basement.  In  this  case,  however,  they  are  ar- 
ranged with  water  and  sewerage,  that  is,  they  are  con* 


28         SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

nected  with  a  catch  basin  in  a  remote  part  of  the  lot. 
The  water  supply  is  pumped  into  a  tank  by  means  of  a 
windmill.  While  this  is  expensive,  it  is  no  doubt  the 
proper  solution  of  this  vexed  question  for  the  school- 
house  in  remote  places  where  neither  water  nor  sewer- 
age is  to  be  had. 

The  design  on  Plate  VI  shows  a  one-room  schoolhouse 
with  the  closets  detached,  but  connected  with  covered 
passageways.  The  arrangement  for  water  supply  and 
sewerage  is  the  same  as  in  the  first  case  ;  this  building 
is  likewise  the  work  of  Mr.  Briggs.  These  plans  other- 
wise have  much  merit,  and  embody  some  requirements 
not  considered  absolutely  necessary,  but  which  should 
be  more  generally  adopted.  Where  the  funds  do  not 
permit  the  installation  and  cost  of  maintenance  of  the 
toilet  system  as  here  described,  a  dry-closet  system 
could  be  used  to  advantage,  described  in  Chapter  IV. 

Plate  VII  shows  the  elevation,  of  a  one-room  school- 
house  in  Center  Township,  Porter  County,  Indiana. 
This  is  considered  the  most  expensive  one-room  school 
building  in  the  state  of  Indiana,  and  is  said  to  have 
cost  $5000.  It  is  the  pride  of  the  community  of  Center 
Township,  and  many  come  from  the  surrounding  coun- 
try to  inspect  the  building.  The  schoolroom  is  34 
by  36  feet,  with  a  seating  capacity  for  sixty-four  pupils. 
It  is  provided  with  an  organ.  There  is  an  entrance  hall, 
a  teacher's  room,  a  cloakroom,  and  a  playroom  in  the 
basement, — where  there  is  also  a  well.  Part  of  the 
basement  is  divided  off  for  the  heating  plant.  The 
lighting  of  the  room  is  equal  from  both  sides,  which 
is  not  to  be  recommended.  The  building  is  a  story  and 
a  half,  with  a  room  for  district  meetings  on  the  second 


PLATE  VII.— ONF-ROOM  SCHOOL  BUILDING,  CENTER  TOWN- 
SHIP,  PORTER  COUNTY.   INDIANA. 


THE   SCHOOL   BUILDING  29 

floor.  The  belfry  has  been  made  more  conspicuous  here 
than  usual,  by  developing  it  into  a  full  tower. 

Plate  VIII  shows  an  arrangement  which  has  been 
suggested  as  particularly  adapted  for  the  work  in  the 
district  school.  In  this  room  the  teacher  sits  at  the 
rear,  with  the  scholars  facing  away  from  her.  The 
recitation  benches '  are  at  the  back  of  the  room  and 
face  the  teacher.  With  this  arrangement  the  teacher 
has  a  better  opportunity  of  overseeing  the  class,  and 
when  recitations  are  going  on  the  pupils  who  recite  do 
not  much  disturb  those  who  are  studying.  The  teacher 
is  not  annoyed  by  looking  into  the  glaring  light  of  the 
windows,  which  in  this  case  are  on  either  side. 

In  these  small  buildings  the  schoolroom  should  be 
arranged  with  the  same  care  as  in  other  buildings  for 
the  hanging  of  pictures  and  casts,  of  which  good  exam- 
ples can  now  be  provided  at  a  relatively  low  cost. 

The  exterior  of  a  small  brick  building,  which  would 
generally  be  built  of  common  brick  on  account  of  ex- 
pense, should  be  laid  up  in  red  mortar,  which  lets  the 
wall  appear  in  solid  masses,  giving  a  more  quiet  appear- 
ance than  where  ordinary  white  mortar  is  used.  The 
deep  red  brick  walls  generally  contrast  well  with  green 
surroundings.  If  the  roof  is  of  shingles,  they  should  be 
painted  —  a  shade  of  green  will  give  the  whole  a  pictu- 
resque and  pleasing  appearance. 

In  the  district  schools  of  Indiana,  the  school  bell  is 
still  generally  retained,  although  in  the  city  and  town 
schools  the  bell  is  a  feature  of  the  past.  For  the 
district  school  the  bell  has  its  purpose.  The  belfry 
on  a  one-room  building  offers  opportunity  for  a  good 
architectural  feature,  helps  much  to  enliven  the  sky 


30         SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

lines  of  the  roof,  and  is  the  means  of  adding  height  to 
the  low  building.  The  belfry  has  come  to  be  such  an 
accepted  feature  of  the  one-room  building  that  it  is 
a  distinguishing  mark  to  interpret  to  the  stranger  the 
purpose  of  the  building. 

Plate  IX  shows  the  basement  and  first  story  of  a 
two-room  building.  This  building  is  in  one  of  the 
suburbs  of  Boston  and  was  designed  by  Mr.  Edmund  M. 
Wheelwright,  city  architect  of  Boston  at  the  time.  In 
the  basement  are  located  the  toilet  rooms  and  play- 
rooms, with  separate  stairways  for  boys  and  girls. 
There  are  separate  wardrobes  for  boys  and  girls  for 
each  room.  This  schoolhouse  shows  a  liberal  arrange- 
ment in  planning,  and  is  a  model  building  of  this 
character.  The  exterior  is  treated  in  colonial  style. 
The  dry-closet  system  was  adopted,  since  there  was  no 
sewer  available.  The  heating  is  by  steam  with  indirect 
radiation. 

Plate  X  shows  the  first  and  second  story  plan  of 
a  four-room  building.  One  advantage  of  this  plan  is 
that  all  four  rooms  are  turned  toward  the  same  point 
of  the  compass,  thus  making  possible  a  uniform  arrange- 
ment of  light  and  heating.  This  building  has  one 
large  stairway,  which  is  safe  and  ample  for  the  ninety 
children  on  the  second  floor.  The  entrance  is  through  a 
spacious  vestibule,  the  floor  of  which  is  only  six  inches, 
or  one  step,  above  the  outside  walk.  The  steps  leading 
up  to  the  level  of  the  first  floor  are  inside  the  building, 
where  they  should  be  for  every  schoolhouse,  since  out- 
side steps  become  covered  with  snow  and  ice  in  winter 
and  are  a  source  of  danger.  Separate  stairs  for  boys 
and  girls  lead  from  the  vestibule  down  to  the  basement, 


PLATE  VIII.— ONE-ROOM   BUILDING. 

FRONT  ELEVATION  AND   FIRST   FLOOR   PLAN. 

(Teacher  behind  pupils.) 


Vonnegut  and  Bohn,  Architects, 
Indianapolis,  Indiana. 


BASEMENT  PLAN. 


hi 

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FIRST   FLOOR  PLAN. 

PLATE  IX.  — TWO-ROOM   SCHOOL  BUILDING. 

Edmund  M.  Wheelwright,  A  rchitect, 
Boston. 


THE   SCHOOL   BUILDING  31 

where  the  play  and  toilet  rooms  are  located.  Opposite 
the  main  entrance  is  a  passage  which  leads  out  to  the 
playground.  The  steps  leading  to  the  level  of  the 
yard  are  likewise  inside  the  building,  and  this  entrance 
is  also  provided  with  a  double  set  of  doors  to  pre- 
vent draughts.  The  cloakrooms  are  large,  conveniently 
located,  and  have  direct  outside  light.  The  corridors 
are  large  and  airy,  with  an  abundance  of  light.  On  the 
second  floor  a  teacher's  room  occupies  the  space  which 
is  used  on  the  lower  floor  for  a  passage  to  the  rear. 

The  cost  of  this  building,  executed  in  brick,  with  in- 
terior brick  partition  walls,  slate  roof,  basement  under 
the  whole  building,  heating  and  ventilation  by  means  of 
large,  hot-air  furnaces,  flooring  deafened,  and  of  good 
and  safe  construction,  is  about  $12,000. 

Plate  XI  shows  the  first  and  second  story  plan  of  an 
eight-room  building,  with  assembly  hall  on  the  second 
floor.  Plate  XII  shows  the  exterior  of  this  building, 
with  the  assembly  hall  well  expressed  in  the  central  part. 

The  entrance  is  large,  leading  to  a  spacious  vestibule 
with  a  double  set  of  doors  and  steps  entirely  inside 
of  building,  leading  from  the  level  of  the  outside  walk 
to  the  first  floor.  The  exit  to  the  playground  is  toward 
the  rear,  under  the  main  stairway,  separated  for  boys 
and  girls.  From  the  rear  vestibule  separate  stairs  for 
boys  and  girls  lead  down  to  the  toilet  rooms  in  the 
basement. 

On  the  first  floor,  located  near  the  entrance,  are  the 
principal's  office  and  teachers'  retiring  room,  besides 
storerooms  and  cloakrooms.  The  basement  has  two 
direct  exits  into  playgrounds,  and  these  are  also  used  as 
bicycle  runs  to  bicycle  rooms  in  basement. 


32         SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

There  are  four  schoolrooms  on  the  first  floor  and  four 
on  the  second  floor.  These  receive  their  light  chiefly 
from  one  side,  through  large  windows  which  come 
within  six  inches  of  the  ceiling.  The  base  around  the 
rooms  and  corridors  is  cove-shaped,  as  shown  in  the  illus- 
tration on  page  15.  There  is  no  finish  around  the  doors 
or  windows.  The  angles  formed  by  walls  and  ceilings 
are  occupied  by  coves  with  about  six  inches  radius,  thus 
avoiding  an  accumulation  of  dust  and  aiding  in  the  free 
movement  of  air.  The  dados  throughout  are  of  cement 
plastering  covered  with  oil  paint.  One  grand  stairway 
leads  from  the  first  to  the  second  floor.  This  stairway 
is  altogether  28  feet  wide,  formed  of  one  wide  middle  run 
and  two  side  runs.  The  platform  is  large  with  room 
for  flowers,  as  shown  in  Plate  IV.  From  this  plat- 
form a  door  leads  directly  out  to  a  good  fire-escape. 
The  entire  stairway  is  constructed  of  iron. 

The  main  feature  of  the  second  floor  is  the  assem- 
bly hall  shown  on  Plate  IV.  This  assembly  hall  is 
large  enough  to  seat  all  children  attending  the  school. 
The  building  is  heated  with  direct-indirect  steam  heat- 
ing for  schoolrooms,  and  direct  steam  for  other  parts  of 
the  building.  In  the  assembly  hall  a  steam  pipe  runs 
along  the  full  length  of  the  hall,  and  serves  as  a  foot 
warmer.  The  exterior  of  the  building  is  laid  up  in 
common  brick  richly  trimmed  with  cut  stone  work. 
The  total  cost  was  $26,000. 


SPRING 

From  painting  by  Corot.     1796-1875 


i  well  lighted  space 
in  .in  M]ipcr  grade  room.     Exquisite 

oi  \\rr\\i  and  shade 
ive  treatment  ofd- 


32         SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

There  are  four  schoolrooms  on  the  first  floor  and  four 
on  the  second  floor.  These  receive  their  light  chiefly 
from  one  side,  through  large  windows  which  come 
within  six  inches  of  the  ceiling.  The  base  around  the 
rooms  and  corridors  is  cove-shaped,  as  shown  in  the  illus- 
tration on  page  15.  There  is  no  finish  around  the  doors 
or  windows.  The  angles  fon  vails  and  ceilings 

are  occupied  by  coves  with  ab  ;ches  radius,  thus 

avoiding  an  accumulation  of  di  ;^  in  the  free 

movement  of  air.     The  dados  •  •.  re  of  cement 

plastering  -covered  with  oil  paint.  id  stairway 

leads  from  the  first  to  the  sec  irway 

is  altogether  28  feet  v/i&JAlBft& 
and  two  side  runs.     The 

for   flowe£!,8laf^Wn0<tfH!T<*  gnrtnifiq  mort 
form  a  door   leads   direct 
The  entire  stairway  is  constructed  of  iron. 

The  main  feature  of  the  second  floor  is  the  assem- 
bly hall  shown  on  Plate  IV.  This  assembly  hall  is 
large  enough  to  seat  all  children  attending  the  school. 
The  building  is  heated  with  direct-indiret  'neat- 

ing  for  schoolrooms,  and  direct  steam 
the  building.     In  the  assemb1  runs 

along  the  full  length  of  •  .!»  a  foot 

warmer.     Th 
common 

The  total  c' 

Ibw  &  id* 
.moo-r 


9vi 


•  SCHOOL     BOOM- 


-SCMOOl.     ROOM- 


SECOND   FLOOR 
PLAN. 


\ 


•SCHOOL    BOOM- 


•x' 


-  SCHOOL    ROOM- 


J 


\ 


FIRST  FLOOR 
PLAN. 


I 


PLATE  X.  — FOUR-ROOM  SCHOOL  BUILDING. 

Vonntgut  and  Bohn,  Architects, 
Indianapolis. 


SECOND   FLOOR   PLAN. 


FIRST  FLOOR   PLAN. 

PLATE  XL  — EIGHT-ROOM   SCHOOL  BUILDING,  WITH 
ASSEMBLY   HALL. 

Vonnegut  and  Bohn,  Architects , 
Indianapolis. 


CHAPTER   III 

PRINCIPLES   OF  VENTILATING,  HEATING,  AND  LIGHTING 

SIR  EDWIN  CHADWICK  did  not  exaggerate  when  he 
said  that  good  ventilation,  heating,  and  lighting  of  a 
schoolroom  will  augment  the  capacity  of  attention  of 
the  pupils  by  at  least  one-fifth  as  compared  with  that  of 
the  children  taught  in  schoolrooms  of  common  construc- 
tion. In  order  to  ventilate  a  schoolroom  properly,  it  is 
necessary  to  remove  quickly  the  air  vitiated  by  respira- 
tion, and  to  replace  it  with  fresh  air.  This  must  be 
done  without  producing  perceptible  draughts.  The 
oxygen  obtained  from  the  air  is  absolutely  essential  for 
the  continuance  of  all  forms  of  animal  life,  school  chil- 
dren not  excepted. 

Expired  air  contains  about  four  per  cent  of  carbonic 
acid  gas,  besides  having  its  volume  of  oxygen  diminished 
by  about  the  same  amount.  Furthermore,  this  expired 
air  has  become  considerably  warmer,  and  has  acquired  a 
large  quantity  of  water  vapor  from  the  lungs  and  air 
passages.  Carbonic  acid  gas  is  unsuitable  for  the  sup- 
port of  healthy  respiration.  It  will  not  support  com- 
bustion, as  is  shown  by  plunging  a  lighted  taper  into  it. 
Animal  life  is  almost  as  suddenly  extinguished  when 
placed  in  an  atmosphere  of  it.  Mixtures  of  this  gas, 
with  the  common  air  in  different  proportions,  give  rise 
D  33 


34         SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

to  various  symptoms  that  indicate  incomplete  oxidation 
of  the  blood,  and  in  some  cases  cause  slow  death. 
However,  the  carbonic  acid  gas  that  occurs  in  the  ex- 
pired air  from  man  or  animals  seems  to  be  far  different 
in  its  effects  from  the  carbonic  acid  gas  derived  from 
purely  chemical  sources.  Carbonic  acid  gas  is  in  itself 
odorless,  and  yet  when  we  enter  a  crowded  and  poorly 
ventilated  schoolroom  we  can  always  detect  a  very  dis- 
agreeable odor.  This  is  caused  by  a  volatile,  organic 
matter,  which  comes  off  from  the  body  in  the  process 
of  respiration,  and  which  is  the  most  vicious  constituent 
of  expired  air.  It  is  invisible  and  is  very  difficult  to 
measure  or  analyze  even  by  the  most  delicate  chemical 
methods.  It  is  this  which  we  notice  when  we  enter  a 
close  room,  and  being  organic  matter,  it  is  subject  to 
putrefaction.  While  it  takes  a  large  quantity  of  car- 
bonic acid  gas  to  become  injurious,  a  very  small  quan- 
tity of  this  organic  poison  may  do  much  harm.  It  is 
possible,  however,  to  measure  the  carbonic  acid  quite 
accurately.  And  as  the  organic  matter  increases  in 
direct  proportion  with  the  carbonic  acid,  we  can  use  the 
measure  of  the  carbonic  acid  as  the  indicator  of  the 
amount  of  the  poisonous  material.  In  other  words,  we 
make  our  tests  for  this  organic  matter  by  measuring 
accurately  the  percentage  of  carbonic  acid.  It  is  an 
important  fact  for  us  to  bear  in  mind  that  carbonic  acid 
gas,  as  it  comes  from  combustion  or  respiration,  always 
appears  in  bad  company.  If,  for  example,  it  is  the 
result  of  the  combustion  of  coal,  it  is  usually  accom- 
panied by  sulphurous  acid,  a  poisonous  gas ;  and  if 
it  is  the  result  of  respiration,  it  is  always  accompanied 
by  these  minute  quantities  of  volatile,  organic  poisons. 


o  e 


VENTILATING,   HEATING,   AND   LIGHTING         35 

As  Dr.  Ransome  says :  "  The  aqueous  vapor  arising 
from  the  breath  and  from  the  general  surface  of  the 
body  contains  a  minute  proportion  of  the  animal  refuse 
matter  which  has  been  proved  by  actual  experiment  to 
be  deadly  poison.  It  is  this  substance  which  gives  the 
peculiar,  close,  unpleasant  smell  which  is  perceived  on 
leaving  the  fresh  air  and  entering  a  confined  space  occu- 
pied by  human  beings  and  other  animals,  and  air  thus 
charged  has  been  fully  proved  to  be  the  great  cause  of 
scrofulous  or  tubercular  diseases,  and  it  is  the  home  and 
nourisher  of  these  subtile  microscopic  forms  of  life  that 
have  lately  become  so  well  known  under  the  title  of 
germs  of  disease  or  microzymes." 

EFFECTS    OF    BAD    AIR 

There  are  several  things  about  expired  air  that  di- 
rectly affect  the  human  organism.  Expired  air  has  less 
oxygen,  contains  considerable  carbonic  acid  gas,  to- 
gether with  minute  quantities  of  poisonous  organic 
matter;  it  has  a  large  amount  of  watery  vapor  and  is 
warmer.  That  these  factors  have  evil  effects,  especially 
when  they  are  in  a  concentrated  condition,  has  been 
unhappily  proved  in  certain  well-known  instances.  In 
the  Black  Hole  at  Calcutta,  146  persons  were  confined 
in  a  space  18  feet  each  way,  with  two  small  win- 
dows on  one  side.  On  the  next  morning  123  were 
found  dead,  and  the  remaining  23  were  very  ill. 

It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  no  ill  results 
follow  a  comparatively  small  degree  of  pollution,  because 
these  results  are  not  immediately  apparent.  A  general 
lowering  of  strength  and  vigor  is  produced,  and  a  greater 


36         SCHOOL    SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

proneness  to  fall  victim  to  respiratory  and  other  dis- 
eases. The  drowsiness  and  languor  so  frequently 
noticeable  in  school  children  are  to  the  intelligent 
teacher,  not  an  indication  of  wilful  inattention,  but  of 
the  need  of  purer  air.  Yawning,  again,  is  a  cry  of  the 
nervous  system  for  purer  blood,  i.e.,  for  blood  containing 
more  oxygen  and  less  effete  matter. 

It  is  in  the  highest  degree  unfair  to  expect  the  brains 
of  children  to  be  active  in  the  exercise  of  their  func- 
tions, while  they  are  provided  with  blood  which  is 
vitiated  by  respiratory  impurities,  and  are  thus  kept  in 
a  species  of  mental  fog. 

TESTS    FOR   BAD    AIR 

It  is  not  necessary  to  go  through  a  careful  chemical 
analysis  to  ascertain  the  amount  of  impurities  in  school- 
room air.  It  is  accepted  among  sanitarians  that  the 
maximum  amount  of  carbonic  acid  gas  permissible  is 
.07  per  cent.  This  does  not  mean  that  the  carbonic 
acid  gas  is  the  dangerous  thing,  but  that  amount  of  car- 
bonic acid  gas  indicates  the  greatest  amount  of  organic 
impurity  consistent  with  the  preservation  of  health. 
There  is  no  simple  test  for  the  organic  impurities  in 
air,  which  are  really  more  important,  because  more 
pernicious  than  the  carbonic  acid ;  but  inasmuch  as 
the  carbonic  acid  is  nearly  always  in  exact  proportion 
to  the  organic  matter,  the  test  for  the  former  answers 
equally  well  for  the  latter. 

This  test,  combined  with  the  sense  of  smell  on  com- 
ing directly  from  the  external  air,  gives  most  reliable 
indications  which  should  never  be  neglected. 


VENTILATING,   HEATING.   AND    LIGHTING         37 

A  simple  and  rapid  method  for  estimating  the  amount 
of  carbonic  acid  in  the  air  is  described  as  follows  by  Dr. 
J.  B.  Cohen:1  — 

(1)  A  standard  solution  of  limewater.     Pure  water  is 
left  in  contact  with  slacked  lime  until  saturated.     The 
clear  decanted  liquid  is  diluted  with  99  times  its  own 
volume  of  distilled  water.     Make  one  quart  or  one  liter. 

(2)  Phenolphthalein  solution   is    made  by  dissolving 
one  part  of  phenolphthalein  in  500  times  its  weight  of 
diluted  alcohol   (equal   volumes   of   pure    alcohol    and 
water).     Make  three  ounces  or  100  cubic  centimeters. 

(3)  A  twenty-ounce  stoppered  bottle  with  (preferably) 
a  hollow  stopper  marked   to  hold   three  drams  or  ten 
cubic  centimeters. 

A  sample  of  air  is  taken  by  blowing  air  into  the  clean 
stoppered  bottle  with  bellows.  Six  minims  or  one-third 
of  a  cubic  centimeter  of  the  phenolphthalein  solution 
is  then  added,  and  the  measured  volume  of  limewater 
is  run  into  the  hollow  stopper.  The  limewater  is  poured 
into  the  bottle,  the  stopper  inserted,  the  time  noted,  and 
the  contents  vigorously  shaken.  If  the  red  color  of  the 
liquid  disappears  in  three  minutes  or  less,  the  atmos- 
phere is  unfit  for  respiration. 

The  stock  of  limewater  should  be  kept  in  a  bottle 
furnished  with  a  top  and  coated  within  with  a  film  of 
paraffin,  and  in  the  neck  an  open  tube  should  be  in- 
serted containing  pieces  of  caustic  soda  or  quicklime. 
The  phenolphthalein  solution  is  best  measured  by  means 
of  a  narrow  glass  tube  passing  through  the  cork  of  the 
bottle  upon  which  the  measured  volume  is  marked.  If 

1  Smithsonian  Miscellaneous  Collections,  Vol.  XXXIX,  Washington, 
1896.  Number  1073.  Appendix. 


38         SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

the  cork  fits  easily,  the  liquid  may  be  forced  up  exactly 
to  the  mark  by  pushing  in  the  cork. 

The  following  are  estimates  made  in  this  manner 
compared  with  the  results  obtained  by  Pettenkofer's 
method:  — 

Time.  Per  cent.     Volume 

Minutes.  of  Carbonic  Acid. 

ii 1618 

if 1379 

ij  .......        .1279 

3? 07716 

4* 05142 

5 0464 

71 0351 

This  method  may  be  used  in  the  classroom  at  any 
time,  but  care  should  be  taken  to  insure  the  cleanliness 
of  the  bottles  and  the  purity  of  the  standard  solution. 
No  bottles  that  have  contained  any  acid  or  alkali  should 
ever  be  used,  unless  the  bottles  have  been  thoroughly 
cleansed  and  rinsed. 

In  taking  the  sample  of  air  with  the  bellows,  it  is 
well  to  have  a  rubber  tube  five  or  six  feet  long  at- 
tached to  the  inlet  opening  on  the  bellows,  thus  guard- 
ing against  vitiation  of  the  air  by  the  experimenter. 
The  school  children  should  not  gather  about  the  appa- 
ratus, as  they  might  by  their  breathing  interfere  with 
the  results.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  well  to  have  them 
interested  in  the  air  test  and  as  far  as  possible  know 
what  is  being  done;  they  should  also  be  told  the 
results. 


VENTILATING,    HEATING,   AND    LIGHTING         39 
VENTILATION    REQUIREMENTS 

It  has  been  seen  that  for  healthy  respiration  air 
should  never  contain  more  than  .07  per  cent  carbonic 
acid.  Some  authorities,  however,  place  this  figure  at 
.06  per  cent.  We  will  place  our  standard  at  the  former 
figure.  Ventilation,  then,  should  have  for  its  object 
the  keeping  of  the  amount  of  carbonic  acid  gas  within 
this  limit. 

Each  individual  gives  off  in  the  process  of  respiration 
316  cubic  centimeters  of  carbonic  acid  gas  per  minute, 
so  that  it  requires  not  less  than  590  cubic  meters  of 
fresh  air  per  hour  to  keep  each  individual  supplied 
with  air  containing  less  than  .07  per  cent  of  carbonic 
acid  gas.  Parkes,  an  authority  on  hygiene,  gives  the 
following  figures  for  the  amount  of  fresh  air  that  should 
be  supplied  to  persons  in  health  and  repose  :  — 

For  adult  males,  3500  cu.  ft.  per  head  per  hour. 

For  adult  females,          3000  cu.  ft.  per  head  per  hour. 
For  children,  2000  cu.  ft.  per  head  per  hour. 

For  mixed  community,  3000  cu.  ft.  per  head  per  hour. 

In  actual  practice,  in  the  ventilation  of  schools,  2000 
cubic  feet  per  hour  is  usually  taken  as  the  quantity 
of  air  that  is  practicable  to  furnish  to  pupils,  and  no 
plan  or  system  of  ventilation  should  aim  at  giving  a 
smaller  supply.  No  air  should  be  considered  too  pure 
for  school  children.  Each  pupil  should  be  provided 
with  from  25  to  30  cubic  feet  of  fresh  air  per  min- 
ute, and  this  should  be  distributed  without  producing 
draughts,  and  having  a  temperature  of  not  less  than 
60°  nor  more  than  68°  Fahr. 


40         SCHOOL   SANITATION  AND   DECORATION 

The  following  rules  respecting  ventilation  are  of 
importance  :  — 

(1)  The  air  should  be  drawn  from  a  pure  source. 

(2)  No   draught    or  current   should   be   perceptible. 
Often   the   remedy  for   a  draught  is  not   to  close  the 
opening,  but  to  make  others  in  order  to  increase  the 
area  through  which  the  air  enters. 

(3)  The  entry  of  air  should  be  constant,  not  at  in- 
tervals. 

(4)  An  abundant  exit  for  impure  air  should  be  pro- 
vided   separate    from  the  points  of   entrance  of   fresh 
air.     In  order  to  maintain  a  given  standard  of  purity, 
it  is  necessary  to  provide  for  the  removal  of  a  volume 
of  impure   air  equal  to  that  of  the  pure  air  which  is 
supplied.     In  order  to  satisfactorily  fulfill  all  these  re- 
quirements, it  is  necessary  to  understand  fully  the  sev- 
eral systems  of  ventilation. 

NATURAL    VENTILATION 

There  are  two  natural  agencies  that  are  constantly 
assisting  to  bring  about  ventilation  :  the  diffusion  of 
gases,  and  the  air  currents  formed  by  differences  in 
temperature. 

Diffusion,  by  which  the  purer  outside  gases  tend  to 
mix  with  the  impure  internal  air,  is  constantly  going  on, 
though  under  ordinary  circumstances  the  rate  of  dif- 
fusion is  slow,  and  the  amount  of  interchange  thus 
effected  is  but  small. 

Differences  in  temperature  cause  much  more  active 
movements  of  air,  warm  air  floating  to  the  top  of  cold 
air,  as  oil  floats  to  the  top  of  water.  The  air  in  a  room 


VENTILATING,   HEATING,   AND   LIGHTING        41 

is  warmed  by  the  inmates  and  by  the  stove,  gas,  or 
other  source  of  artificial  heat.  Cold  air  tends  to  rush 
in  from  every  opening,  and,  being  heavier  than  warm 
air,  falls  toward  the  floor,  producing  a  draught.  The 
great  problem  of  ventilation  is  to  secure  a  sufficient 
interchange  of  air  without  causing  draughts.  The  en- 
trance of  air  at  any  temperature  below  50°  into  a  room 
whose  temperature  is  65°  or  even  70°  is  almost  certain 
to  be  accompanied  by  a  draught ;  hence  it  is  necessary 
to  warm  the  entering  air  during  the  winter  months. 

If  a  free  entrance  for  pure  air  is  not  provided,  the 
influence  of  the  higher  temperature  in  the  schoolroom 
may  produce  an  aspiration  of  air  from  undesirable 
places.  Thus  it  not  uncommonly  happens  that  air  is 
drawn  directly  from  underground  cellars,  defective 
drains,  water-closet  rooms,  and  so  on. 

For  practical  purposes  there  are  two  kinds  of  ventila- 
tion, natural  and  artificial.  The  former  is  produced  by 
the  ordinary  interchange  of  air  when  doors  and  windows 
are  allowed  to  remain  open.  The  latter  depends  upon 
the  assistance  of  the  heating  apparatus,  or  of  some 
mechanical  appliance  for  forcing  the  air  into  the  rooms 
or  of  sucking  it  out  from  them.  Natural  ventilation 
is  possible  only  during  the  warmer  months.  The  colder 
the  outside  air,  the  more  violent  the  draughts  when  it 
is  admitted  to  the  warm  room.  It  is  unsafe  to  rely  on 
it  for  a  supply  of  pure  air  when  all  doors,  windows,  and 
ventilators  are  closed.  The  diffusion  of  the  outside 
air  through  the  walls,  cracks  around  doors  and  windows, 
ecc.,  is  insufficient  to  purify  the  air,  and,  if  depended 
upon,  will  result  in  the  foul  atmosphere  only  too  com- 
mon to  schoolrooms. 


42         SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

In  order  that  natural  ventilation  may  be  more  effec- 
tual, all  corridors  should  be  large  and  airy,  and  have 
windows  opening  direct  to  the  outer  air.  No  school- 
room plan  which  does  not  fulfill  these  conditions  can  be 
regarded  as  satisfactory. 

In  the  methods  of  ventilation  hitherto  described,  the 
air  is  admitted  at  the  same  temperature  as  the  external 
air.  Such  methods  have,  however,  but  a  limited  appli- 
cation in  the  northern  United  States.  During  a  large 
portion  of  the  year,  in  order  to  prevent  dangerous 
draughts,  the  incoming  air  requires  warming. 

When  the  external  temperature  reaches  60°,  or  better 
still  65°,  the  air  may  be  freely  admitted.  Open  windows 
are  by  far  the  best  means  of  ventilation,  and  during  the 
school  recess  all  the  windows  should  be  thrown  open, 
opposite  windows  if  possible,  or  doors  and  windows,  in 
order  that  the  rooms  may  be  thoroughly  flushed  with 
air.  Ordinary  ventilation  commonly  leaves  a  consider- 
able proportion  of  organic  volatile  matter  from  respira- 
tion hanging  about  the  room,  while  the  rapid  currents 
of  air  during  the  flushing  of  a  room  carry  this  away. 

Natural  ventilation,  as  a  method  of  purifying  school- 
room air,  must  be  discarded  entirely  during  the  winter 
months. 

ARTIFICIAL    VENTILATION 

Artificial  or  forced  ventilation  refers  to  those  methods 
which  employ  some  artificial  means  for  moving  air. 
Nearly  all  such  systems  depend  upon  one  of  two  things  : 
(i)  the  rarifying  power  of  heat  applied  to  air  in  flues,  — 
the  so-called  gravity  system,  and  (2)  the  mechanical 
power  applied  through  the  medium  of  fans.  In  the 


VENTILATING,   HEATING,   AND    LIGHTING         43 

first  method,  the  gravity  system,  the  problem  is  to  draw 
the  cold  bad  air  out  of  the  rooms,  and  at  the  same  time 
draw  warm  fresh  air  in.  Warm  air  is  lighter  than  cold 
and  will  always  rise.  Carbonic  acid,  at  the  temperature 
at  which  it  is  generated  in  the  lungs,  is  considerably 
lighter  than  air,  but  as  soon  as  it  cools  to  the  ordinary 
temperature,  it  becomes  heavier  and  of  course  falls. 

The  object  of  this  gravity  system  is  to  remove  the 
cold  bad  air  from  the  bottom  of  the  room,  leaving  that 
which  is  fresh  and  warm.  It  is  not  a  very  difficult  mat- 
ter to  create  a  strong  current  by  heating  air  and  allow- 
ing this  heated  air  to  pass  up  through  a  shaft  or  stack. 
If  this  stack  is  connected  with  the  outlets  for  the  bad 
air,  the  foul  air  will  be  withdrawn  from  the  rooms 
by  the  force  of  the  current,  which  tends  to  create  a 
vacuum.  The  larger  the  number  of  outlets  through 
which  the  air  is  being  drawn  out,  the  less  chance  there 
is  for  the  creation  of  draughts  along  the  floor  of  the 
room.  Inlets  for  fresh  air  must  be  provided,  and  proper 
arrangements  made  for  heating  it,  so  that  it  will  be 
circulated  through  all  parts  of  the  room  at  the  proper 
temperature.  It  is  readily  seen  that  this  fresh  air  does 
not  have  to  be  forced  into  the  room  through  the 
inlets  because  the  ventilating  shaft  tends  to  produce 
the  vacuum  in  the  room,  and  the  fresh  warm  air  will  be 
sucked  in  to  fill  the  vacuum.  The  action  of  the  air 
currents  in  such  a  system  is  well  shown  in  Fig.  3. 

The  warm  air,  if  allowed  to  enter  high  in  the  wall  of  the 
room,  makes  a  complete  circuit  of  the  room  without  creat- 
ing much  draught,  and  is  sucked  out  through  the  outlet 
by  means  of  the  sucking  action  caused  by  the  'current 
of  air  in  the  ventilating  shaft.  While  these  currents 


44 


SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 


may  be  slightly  affected  by  natural  ventilation  through 
doors  and  windows,  the  variation  will  not  interfere  ma- 
terially with  the  proper  results  being  attained.  The 
diagram  provides,  as  can  readily  be  seen,  for  both  inlet 
and  outlet  on  the  same  side  of  the  room.  Other  loca- 
tions for  these  openings  have  been  advocated ;  for 
instance,  the  warm  air  inlet  may  be  in  the  floor,  and  the 


FIG.  3.  — GRAVITY  SYSTEM,  WITH  INLET  AND  OUTLET  ON  THE  SAME 
SIDE  OF  THE  ROOM. 

vent  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  room  and  near  the  floor. 
The  result  of  such  an  arrangement  is  shown  in  Fig.  4 
In  this  case  the  distribution  of  the  warm  air  is  not 
complete. 

Still  another  arrangement  is  to  have  the  warm  air 
inlet  on  the  floor  at  one  side  of  the  room,  and  the  outlet 
high  up  on  the  other  side.  This  gives  still  less  distribu- 
tion of  the  warm  fresh  air  throughout  the  room,  as  is 
shown  in  Fig.  5. 


VENTILATING,   HEATING,  AND   LIGHTING        45 


FIG.  4.  — GRAVITY  SYSTEM,  WITH   INLET  AND  OUTLET  ON  OPPOSITE 
SIDES  AND  NEAR  THE  FLOOR. 


FIG.  5. —GRAVITY  SYSTEM,  WITH  INLET  NEAR  THE  FLOOR  AND  OUTLET 
NEAR  THE  CEILING  ON  THE  OPPOSITE  SIDE. 


SCHOOL   SANITATION    AND    DECORATION 


Methods  have  been  tried  introducing  the  warm  air 
rather  high  up  in  the  room,  and  withdrawing  it  from 
the  opposite  side  near  the  floor.  Figure  6  shows  that  the 
results  are  similar  to  the  last  arrangement.  These  last 
cases  are  bad  enough,  but  there  are  others  even  worse. 
Figure  7  shows  the  inlet  high  and  the  outlet  nearly 
opposite.  Where  this  plan  is  adopted,  any  escape  of 


FIG.  6.— GRAVITY  SYSTEM,  WITH  INLET  HIGH  AND  OUTLET  NEAR  THE 
FLOOR  ON  THE  OPPOSITE  SIDE. 

the  vitiated  cool  air  must  be  brought  about  through 
the  natural  ventilation  of  doors  and  windows,  or  by  dis- 
turbance of  the  lower  atmospheric  stratum,  by  the 
occupants  of  the  room.  Careful  experiments  have  been 
tried  in  glass  rooms  by  ventilation  experts,  who  have 
watched  the  course  taken  by  the  air  currents  under 
these  different  conditions,  the  currents  being  marked 
by  smoke,  and  thus  easily  studied. 


VENTILATING,  HEATING,  AND   LIGHTING        4? 


In  practice,  it  is  found  advisable  to  have  several  out- 
lets for  the  air  rather  than  one,  as  is  indicated  in  the 
diagrams.  Thus  there  is  less  chance  for  the  production 
of  draughts,  and  a  better  circulation  is  afforded.  These 
gravity  systems  usually  arrange  for  a  mixing  valve,  by 
means  of  which  the  temperature  of  the  fresh  air  is 
regulated,  it  being  possible  by  opening  or  closing  the 


FIG.  7.  — GRAVITY  SYSTEM,  WITH  INLET  HIGH  AND  OUTLET  HIGH  AND 

OPPOSITE. 

valve  to  introduce  more  or  less  cold  air  directly  from 
the  outside  as  occasion  demands.  Automatic  regulators 
(thermostats)  have  been  devised  and  installed  to  open 
or  close  these  valves,  without  requiring  the  attention  of 
the  teacher.  In  many  instances  these  work  admirably 
but  often  get  out  of  adjustment,  in  which  case  there  is 
no  ventilation,  and  either  too  little  or  too  much  heat. 

It  is  of  the  greatest  importance  in  the  introduction  of 
this  or  any  other  recognized   system  of   heating  and 


48         SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

ventilating  that  an  expert  engineer  of  wide  experience 
should  make  the  plans  and  complete  the  arrangements. 
Each  school  building  requires  a  special  study  by  itself. 
Two  buildings  constructed  on  exactly  the  same  archi- 
tectural plans  might  require  entirely  different  heating 
and  ventilating  systems,  because  of  slightly  different 
orientation  or  exposure.  It  has  been  the  tendency  in 
the  past  to  economize  on  systems  of  ventilation ;  but 
when  the  necessary  expensiveness  of  good  ventilation 
is  fairly  grasped  by  school  managers,  there  will  be  an 
end  of  this  attempt  to  save  money,  which  is  now  so 
general.  Such  economizing  is  at  the  expense  of  the 
children's  health  and  greatly  tends  to  increase  our 
mortality. 

The  other  method  of  artificial  ventilation,  that  re- 
quiring mechanical  means  to  force  fresh  air  into  the 
rooms,  operates  in  exactly  the  opposite  way  from  the 
gravity  system.  That  is,  the  fresh  air  is  forced  into 
the  .schoolroom  by  means  of  a  fan,  and  the  foul  air  is 
pushed  out  through  any  openings  in  the  rooms,  and 
passes  away  through  a  stack.  The  air  in  the  rooms  in 
such  a  system  as  this  is  under  constant  pressure.  All 
spaces  are  filled  with  air,  and  all  leakage  is  toward  the 
outside.  Thus  the  entrance  of  contaminated  air  from 
any  outside  source  is  absolutely  prevented.  Such  a  sys- 
tem as  this,  in  distinction  from  the  vacuum  system,  is 
called  the  plenum. 

The  diagrams  shown  in  the  discussion  of  the  gravity 
system  will  answer  as  well  for  the  fan  system,  if  we 
imagine  the  warm  air  to  be  forced  into  the  room,  and 
the  vitiated  air  to  be  pushed  out  through  the  vents. 

The  plenum  has  one  great  advantage  over  the  vac- 


VENTILATING,   HEATING,   AND   LIGHTING        49 

uum  system,  in  that  the  air  in  the  rooms  is  under 
pressure,  and  there  is  no  opportunity  for  bad  air  to  leak 
into  the  rooms  through  floors  or  walls.  Of  course  the 
air  that  is  warmed  and  distributed  must  be  taken  from 
a  pure  source,  and  this  leads  to  the  discussion  of  an 
important  point.  This  is  the  air  supply. 

The  air  must  never  be  taken  from  the  basement.  It 
must  be  taken  in  from  the  outside  ;  and  the  condition  of 
the  ground  over  which  it  is  drawn  is  of  great  importance. 
The  best  conditions  are  afforded  by  a  grass  plot  that 
can  always  be  kept  mown  and  clean.  If  necessary,  it 
should  be  fenced  off,  and  all  scraps  from  lunches,  loose 
papers,  apple  cores,  banana  skins,  etc.,  must  be  kept 
from  it.  It  should  be  the  cleanest  and  most  beautiful 
spot  about  the  school,  and  should  be  as  far  as  possible 
from  the  part  of  the  building  in  which  the  sanitaries  are 
located.  In  this  way  a  pure,  fresh  supply  is  assured, 
and  one  that  is  comparatively  free  from  dust.  In  warm- 
ing the  air,  it  is  often  advisable  to  furnish  it  with  some 
moisture.  This  should  all  be  arranged  in  connection 
with  the  heater.  A  room  that  is  overheated  with  dry 
air  is  very  oppressive. 

These  systems,  such  as  the  gravity  and  the  mechani- 
cal systems,  require  the  expenditure  of  considerable 
coal  or  gas  in  order  to  heat  the  air  and  to  run  the 
necessary  machinery.  No  system  of  warming  and 
ventilating  has  as  yet  been  devised  which  will  work 
automatically.  Any  system,  if  it  is  good  for  anything, 
must  be  supervised  by  a  competent  man.  Brains  are 
required  as  well  as  coal  for  an  apparatus  designed  for 
this  great  purpose.  The  man  who  is  responsible  for 
the  running  of  the  heating  and  ventilating  apparatus 


5<D         SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

not  uncommonly  regards  good  ventilation  as  inimical 
to  his  interests,  and  in  case  the  heat  is  lowered,  will 
sometimes  stop  the  valve  leading  to  the  exit  flues,  thus 
penning  up  the  hot  impure  air,  rather  than  supply  the 
extra  fuel  required.  Of  course  it  is  for  his  interest  to 
appear  economical  of  coal.  He  is,  therefore,  under  con- 
stant temptation  to  check  the  outflow  of  warm  air  from 
the  rooms  and  to  minimize  the  period  of  flushing  them 
with  the  external  air  after  school  hours. 

Various  other  methods  of  heating  schoolrooms  are  in 
common  use.  One  that  deserves  some  attention  is  that 
which  utilizes  steam  for  heating,  the  radiators  being 
placed  in  schoolrooms  next  to  the  outside  walls.  Open- 
ings are  cut  through  the  walls  at  the  base  of  these 
radiators,  permitting  the  outside  air  to  enter  the  room 
and  become  heated  by  passing  between  and  around 
the  various  pipes  of  the  radiator.  The  outlets  for  bad 
air  are  usually  placed  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  room 
from  the  radiators,  thus  insuring  a  fairly  good  circula- 
tion of  the  air  throughout  the  room. 

The  action  of  such  a  system  on  the  air  currents  in 
the  room  may  be  seen  in  Fig.  8. 

Steam-heating,  if  the  radiators  are  in  the  schoolrooms, 
is  not  advisable  unless  there  are  openings  provided  for 
admitting  fresh  air.  The  temperature  is  regulated  with 
great  difficulty,  even  if  the  valves  are  in  good  condition. 
The  average  steam-heated  schoolroom  is  overheated. 

In  smaller  schools  it  has  not  been  customary  to  intro- 
duce any  of  these  more  or  less  complicated  systems  be- 
cause of  the  expense,  and  yet  none  of  the  other  methods 
that  have  been  devised  for  them  are  perfectly  satisfac- 
tory. The  unjacketed  stove,  when  placed  in  the  school- 


VENTILATING,   HEATING,  AND   LIGHTING         51 


room  itself,  cannot  be  considered  with  favor.  It  is  true 
that  several  forms  of  stove  have  been  arranged  with 
jackets,  double  floors,  ventilating  shafts,  etc.,  but  even 
then,  unless  conditions  are  remarkably  in  their  favor, 
such  heating  and  ventilating  apparatus  will  not  work 
with  satisfaction.  In  cold  weather,  in  particular,  such 
stoves  will  not  heat  the  room  equally.  Some  children 


FIG.  8.  — STEAM  WITH  DIRECT-INDIRECT  RADIATION. 

will  be  warm  and  some  cold.  Stoves  without  any  sys- 
tem of  jacketing  should  never  be  used.  They  make  the 
air  very  dry,  produce  a  close  smell,  and  heat  the  room 
only  on  the  side  where  the  stove  happens  to  be. 

The  distribution  of  the  warm  air  in  this  case  may  be 
seen  in  Fig.  9.  If  this  stove  is  jacketed,  and  proper 
means  taken  to  heat  and  distribute  outside  air  and  to 
remove  bad  air,  much  objection  is  removed.  It  will  be 
found,  however,  upon  taking  into  account  the  expense 
of  jacketing  the  stove,  providing  the  necessary  ventila- 
tion flues,  etc.,  required  to  make  it  work  satisfactorily, 


52          SCHOOL   SANITATION  AND    DECORATION 

that  the  expenditure  incurred  will  not  be  very  far  from 
that  required  for  the  construction  of  a  cellar  and  furnace, 
and  the  latter  system  would  give  far  greater  satisfaction. 
One  serious  objection  to  having  the  heating  apparatus  in 
the  schoolroom  is,  that  any  attention  which  it  may  re- 
quire during  school  hours  is  a  cause  of  distraction  to 
the  children. 


FIG.  9.  — THE  UNJACKETED  STOVE. 


Fireplaces  are  considered  very  good  things  to  have 
in  schoolrooms,  but  they  must  not  be  depended  upon  as 
the  only  means  of  heating  and  ventilating.  A  fireplace 
furnishes  a  cheerful  warmth  and  is  a  great  purifier  of 
the  air,  but  its  heat  is  too  unequally  distributed.  Even 
in  smaller  rooms  it  produces  cold  currents  of  air  along 
the  floor.  Attempts  have  been  made  to  utilize  the  heat 
usually  passing  up  the  chimney  and  wasted  by  the  fire- 
place, by  means  of  chambers  behind  the  fireplace.  In 


VENTILATING,    HEATING,   AND    LIGHTING         53 


this  way  external  air  is  warmed  as  it  enters  the  room. 
A  heater  constructed  on  this  plan  is  shown  in  Fig.  10. 
At  the  back  of  the  heater  is  an  air  chamber  communi- 
cating with  the  external  air. 

Air   admitted    through    the    opening  (a,   Fig.    10)  is 
warmed   by   coming  in    contact   with  the  fire-clay  (d}, 


FIG.  10.  —  SLOW-COMBUSTION  VENTILATING  STOVE. 

1.  Section  of  stove,  showing  —  a,  entrance  of  cold  air ;  b,  entrance  of  warmed 

air  into  room ;  c,  smoke  flue ;  d,  fire-clay  back  of  stove. 

2.  Front  elevation  of  same  stove. 

which  separates  the  air  channel  from  the  smoke  flue  (c). 
The  warmed  air  leaves  the  air  channel  by  the  grating  (b) 
over  the  fireplace,  and  then  travels  along  the  upper  part 
of  the  room,  falling  to  the  floor  as  it  cools,  and  finally 
escaping  up  the  chimney. 

The  distribution  of  air  currents  in  a  room  with  this 


54         SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

arrangement  would  be  similar  to  that  shown  in  Fig.  3. 
A  specially  arranged  fireplace  of  the  kind  just  described 
might  be  found  very  useful  in  a  very  small  room,  but  in 
the  larger  rooms  it  could  hardly  be  satisfactory  by  itself. 

LIGHTING   OF    SCHOOLROOMS 

The  proper  lighting  of  schoolrooms  is  one  of  the 
most  important  problems  of  school  hygiene,  and  yet  we 
find  very  few  schoolhouses  that  are  really  well  lighted. 
The  eyes  are  in  such  constant  use  in  school  that  the 
conditions  under  which  they  work  should  be  the  most 
favorable.  Direct  sunshine  in  the  schoolroom  is  always 
cheerful,  and  yet  the  eye  is  dazzled,  irritated,  and  often 
permanently  injured  by  working  on  objects  that  are 
directly  illuminated  by  the  sun.  One  of  the  most  im- 
portant rules  in  the  lighting  of  a  schoolroom  is  to  ex- 
clude the  direct  rays  of  the  sun  during  school  hours.  It 
does  not  necessarily  mean  that  the  schoolrooms  are 
best  arranged  on  the  side  of  the  building  which  is  not 
reached  by  the  sun,  because  it  is  essential  to  utilize  the 
sun's  rays  to  purify  the  air  of  the  room.  The  mental 
effect  of  deficient  light  is  accompanied  by  an  actual 
physical  effect,  so  that  we  should  guard  against  having 
too  little  light,  just  as  much  as  against  having  too  much 
light.  The  proverb  well  says,  that  "  Where  the  light 
cannot  come,  the  doctor  must."  It  has  been  observed, 
in  practice,  that  the  attendance  in  a  poorly  lighted 
schoolhouse  is  always  less  regular  than  in  a  cheerful 
and  well-lighted  school. 

The  question  in  regard  to  direct  sunlight  entering 
the  schoolroom  has  been  a  much  debated  one.  In  our 


VENTILATING,   HEATING,   AND    LIGHTING         55 

climate  there  are  many  days  in  which  clouds  are  rapidly 
passing  over  the  sun,  giving  quite  rapid  alternations  of 
light  and  shadow.  The  eye  cannot  accommodate  itself 
to  these  rapid  changes  in  the  intensity  of  light  without 
undergoing  considerable  fatigue.  Professor  Forster,  of 
Breslau,  says  in  regard  to  this  matter :  "  Many  of  the 
advocates  of  the  southern  exposure  of  schoolrooms 
pass  over  this  point  lightly  with  the  remark  that  pro- 
tection from  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun  may  easily  be 
had  by  the  use  of  curtains.  But  this  'easily'  I  must 
dispute.  The  curtains  are  not  yet  invented  that  will 
keep  back  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun  and  at  the  same 
time  let  the  diffuse  light  of  the  clear  sky  pass  through. 
The  inventor  of  such  a  curtain  would  be  regarded  as 
a  benefactor  of  the  human  race.  As  such  a  protection 
some  have  recommended  thick,  white  linen.  But  this 
is  too  dazzling.  Then  ground  glass  has  been  recom- 
mended, but  this  is  also  too  blinding  in  direct  sun- 
shine, and  in  cloudy  days  intercepts  the  light  too  much. 
Again,  all  green,  gray,  or  blue  curtains,  if  thick,  absorb 
too  much  light,  and  make  the  desks  most  distant  from 
the  window  too  dark.  While,  if  thin,  they  let  through 
too  many  of  the  heat  rays.  Venetian  and  other  blinds 
darken  the  room  altogether  too  much.  If  the  curtains 
are  brought  across  the  upper  part  of  the  window,  they 
obscure  just  that  part  of  the  window  opening  that  is 
the  most  valuable  for  lighting  the  schoolroom." 

But  Dr.  Cohn,  also  of  Breslau,  the  great  authority 
on  the  hygiene  of  the  eyes  of  school  children,  says 
that  there  never  can  be  too  much  light  in  the  school- 
room. His  idea  is,  not  that  too  much  light  will  not 
injure  the  eyes,  but  that  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  shut 


56         SCHOOL  SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

out  the  excess  of  light,  while  it  is  not  easy  to  cut  open- 
ings for  windows  after  the  window  space  has  already 
been  made.  That  is,  if  the  available  light  by  the  window 
is  insufficient,  it  is  difficult  to  supply  light  in  other  ways. 
No  definite  statement  can  be  made  in  regard  to  the 
extent  of  window  surface  in  proportion  to  floor  space 
that  will  fit  every  room,  because  there  are  such  vary- 
ing conditions,  particularly  in  cities.  The  light  of  the 
room  is  affected,  for  example,  by  the  height  of  the 
houses  across  the  street,  the  width  of  the  street,  and 
the  frontage  of  the  windows.  All  tend  to  modify  any 
definite  rule  that  may  be  laid  down. 

The  most  radical  authorities  claim  that  one-fourth 
should  be  the  proportion  of  window  space  to  floor  space, 
and  the  authority  on  the  other  extreme  claims  one-tenth 
as  the  proportion.  This  latter  figure  is  out  of  the  ques- 
tion except  in  very  rare  cases.  One-fifth  and  one-sixth 
should  be  the  minimum  figures  for  window  space.  Un- 
der the  ordinary  conditions,  many  styles  of  curtains  and 
shades  have  been  devised  and  tried,  but  very  few  have 
seemed  to  answer  the  purpose  satisfactorily.  In  re- 
gard to  the  location  of  the  windows,  authorities  gener- 
ally seem  to  agree  that  they  should  be  on  the  left  of  the 
pupils  as  they  sit  in  the  room.  It  is  not  advisable  under 
any  conditions  to  have  cross  lights — lights  that  will 
make  shadows  on  the  books  or  papers  that  the  pupils 
may  be  using.  It  is  not  impossible  to  arrange  a  room 
with  the  main  lights  coming  from  the  back  and  left,  if 
the  light  which  comes  from  the  rear  is  high  enough  to 
prevent  its  making  shadows.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  if  a 
rear  light  could  be  arranged,  that  is,  a  light  coming  from 
the  back  of  th?  room  and  striking  over  the  shoulders  of 


VENTILATING,   HEATING,   AND   LIGHTING         57 

the  pupils,  the  results  would  really  be  better  than  the 
light  coming  simply  from  the  left.  For  example,  it  is 
not  uncommon  to  see  in  a  schoolroom,  in  which  the  light 
comes  from  the  left,  that  the  children  tend  to  twist 
slightly,  with  their  backs  toward  the  windows,  rather 
than  to  sit  perfectly  erect  and  receive  only  the  side 
light  on  their  pages.  As  has  been  said  before,  no  light 
must  be  permitted  which  will  create  distinct  shadows  on 
the  books.  For  writing  purposes,  undoubtedly  the  left- 
hand  light  is  the  correct  one,  but  reading  and  study- 
ing figures  occupy  a  far  larger  portion  of  the  time  of 
the  pupils  during  the  school  day,  and  we  should  perhaps 
consider  this  as  much  if  not  more  than  the  time  for 
writing.  Under  most  conditions,  however,  if  the  win- 
dows are  large,  high,  and  extend  along  the  whole  left 
side  of  the  room,  the  light  that  is  supplied  cannot  be 
far  from  satisfactory.  The  space  between  the  windows 
in  every  case  should  be  as  narrow  as  will  conform  with 
good  construction.  In  Holland,  the  minimum  space 
between  windows  is  stated  at  one  and  one-half  feet. 
The  window  panes  should  be  large  and  the  glass  of 
good  quality.  The  light  from  the  upper  part  of  the 
window  is  the  most  valuable.  All  authorities  agree 
that  the  tops  of  all  school  windows  should  be  square, 
not  rounding,  thus  permitting  no  waste  of  space  which 
would  permit  the  entrance  of  this  high  light. 

It  is  demanded,  in  some  countries,  that  the  windows 
should  be  so  placed  that  from  the  last  seat  in  the  room 
the  child  can  see  some  sky.  It  has  been  said  that  no 
cross  lights  should  be  permitted.  It  is  often  advisable, 
however,  to  have  windows,  particularly  in  small  school- 
houses,  on  both  sides  of  the  room  for  the  purposes  of 


58         SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

ventilation.  If  this  is  done,  by  far  the  greater  amount 
of  light  should  come  from  the  left  side,  enough  to  over- 
come any  shadows  that  might  be  caused  by  the  windows 
on  the  right  side.  The  latter  should  be  high  and  small 
and  looked  upon  more  as  ventilators  than  as  windows. 

During  the  winter  months  it  not  infrequently  happens 
in  some  of  the  darker  rooms  that  it  becomes  necessary 
to  use  artificial  light  for  a  portion  of  the  afternoon  ses- 
sion. As  a  practice  this  should  be  condemned,  because 
even  if  artificial  light  is  used  only  for  a  short  time,  the 
eyes  of  many  of  the  children  are  likely  to  be  strained ; 
furthermore,  under  such  conditions,  the  ventilation  of 
the  room  is  greatly  impaired.  On  such  days  it  would 
be  preferable  to  dismiss  school  rather  than  to  subject 
children  to  such  disadvantages.  The  effects  of  bad 
light  and  the  care  of  the  eye  will  be  treated  in  another 
chapter. 

A  few  words  as  to  the  lighting  requirements  in  for- 
eign countries.  In  London,  it  is  required  that  the  win- 
dows should  be  so  arranged  that  each  part  shall  receive 
abundant  daylight,  and  that  the  interval  between  the 
windows  shall  be  as  small  as  possible.  The  total  super- 
ficies of  the  windows  must  be  at  least  from  one-seventh 
to  one-sixth  of  that  of  the  floor.  They  must  be  rec- 
tangular or  slightly  curved  ;  the  bottom  must  be  four 
feet  above  the  floor,  and  reach  to  six  inches  from  the 
ceiling ;  they  must  as  a  rule  only  be  placed  on  one  of 
the  long  sides  of  the  room.  The  upper  squares  must 
open  inwards.  The  ceiling  must  be  even  and  white. 
In  Germany,  the  regulations  are  as  follows  :  daylight 
may  be  admitted  from  the  left  or  from  behind,  but  not 
from  both  sides.  The  windows  must  have  a  surface 


THE   GOLDEN    STAIR 

From  painting  by  Burne  Jones.     1833- 


;ur  grammar 

A   fascinating  composition  .    ci:. 
lessly   suggestive  :    detail    of    great 
beauty. 


58         SCHOO'  AND   DECORATION 

ventilatio  .  ic  greater  amount 
of  liji  ',  enough  to  over- 
come nig  (I  by  the  windows 
on  tl  The  la"  be  high  and  small 

m  more  as  v  than  as  windows. 

-  winter  monti,  'Yequently  happens 

ic  darker  'ecomes  necessary 

to  a&c  artificial  light  •  rhe  afternoon  ses- 

sba      As  a  pract  ndemned,  because 

even  if  artific  a  short  time,  the 

eyes  of  many  be  strained  ; 
furthermore,  under  such  conditions,  the  ventilation  of 

the  room  is  greatly  impaired  it  would 

be  preferable  to  dismiss  s  object 

children  to   Su^i^f4vat/[aa  TQ 
light  and  the  care  of  tne  c.\      ^^rtr^r    * 

-££8i     .asnol  3mua  vd 

A  few  words  as  to  the  ngritmg  requiremenre  in  tor- 

eign  countries.  In  London,  it  is  required  that  the  win- 
dows should  be  so  arranged  that  each  part  shall  receive 
abundant  daylight,  and  that  the  interval  between  the 
windows  shall  be  as  small  The  total  super- 

ficies or  :nust  be  .  n  one-seventh 

to  one-sr  must  be  rec- 

tangular four 

feet  abov  n  the 

a  one  of 
res  must 
i  nd  white. 

•    .   •-'  rJl^wlS8  :  ^ay^Snt 

litted  a*  iand,  but  not 

-t>rn   .  rromgoqmoj  gni}£niD2sl  A 

,  :v5viJe9§^^fai3/a  surfac€ 


VENTILATING,   HEATING,  AND   LIGHTING         59 

equal  to  one-fifth  of  that  of  the  floor.  In  Vienna,  it  *is 
required  that  great  care  must  be  taken  that  the  windows 
are  always  quite  clean.  In  Sweden,  the  surface  of  the 
windows  must  be  equal  to  one-sixth  of  that  of  the  floors. 
While  so  much  attention  is  being  given  to  the  school- 
rooms themselves,  the  corridors  and  stairways  must  not 
be  overlooked.  It  is  important  that  these  should  be 
light  and  airy,  and,  if  possible,  should  receive  direct  sun- 
light. It  should  never  be  necessary  to  have  to  light 
the  corridors  by  artificial  means. 


CHAPTER   IV 

SANITARY   PROBLEMS   OF   THE   SCHOOLHOUSE 

ALONG  with  the  consideration  of  the  heating  and 
ventilating  of  schools  are  other  sanitary  problems, 
among  the  most  important  of  which  is  that  concerning 
the  disposal  of  refuse.  One  of  the  first  principles  of 
sanitary  science  requires  the  quick  disappearance  from 
the  buildings  of  the  materials  with  which  we  are  done. 
To  comply  with  this  law  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  and, 
at  the  same  time,  one  of  the  most  necessary  things  to 
do.  The  more  distant  the  building  from  the  civilizing 
influence  of  the  city,  the  more  serious  and  difficult  be- 
comes the  problem.  Where  it  is  possible,  as  it  usually 
is  in  the  cities,  to  have  sewer  and  water  connections 
with  the  building,  the  problem  is  greatly  simplified. 
The  architect  has  no  difficulty  in  specifying  that  some 
form  of  water-closets  must  be  used.  It  is  imperative 
that  these  should  be  of  the  simplest  kind,  and  that  there 
should  be  no  mechanical  parts  of  the  apparatus  liable 
to  get  out  of  order.  They  should  work  powerfully  and 
automatically,  and  all  of  the  plumbing  should  be  of  the 
best.  This  last  is  very  important,  because  the  building 
and  its  occupants  must  be  free  from  the  dangers  of 
sewer  gas.  If  there  is  no  sewerage  system,  and  the 
question  of  a  cesspool  arises,  it  is  well  to  know  that  the 
cesspool  is  one  of  the  greatest  sanitary  evils.  It  has 

60 


SANITARY  PROBLEMS   OF   THE   SCHOOLHOUSE       6l 

been  styled  "the  king  of  nuisances."  No  system  of 
closets  must  be  considered  for  a  moment  that  cannot 
be  connected  with  a  city  sewerage  system.  The  cess- 
pool forms  a  manufactory  for  poisonous  gases  and  is 
more  dangerous  in  this  respect  than  the  badly  con- 
structed sewer.  The  soil  around  the  cesspool  tends  to 
become  saturated  with  filth,  and  the  children  using  the 
school  yard  for  a  playground  would  be  in  constant  dan- 
ger from  the  effluvia  arising  from  it. 

If  the  school  is  located  where  there  is  no  sewerage 
system,  the  problem  is  by  no  means  so  easily  settled. 
In  the  rural  section  it  is  utterly  impossible  to  utilize 
the  water  system,  and  therefore  the  country  school  has 
to  be  given  one  of  the  so-called  less  civilized  systems 
of  sewerage  disposal.  It  cannot  have  the  water-closet 
without  the  cesspool,  thus  it  is  obliged  to  resort  to  some 
of  the  usual  methods  employed  in  rural  dwellings,  or 
else  to  use  what  is  called  the  dry  closet  system,  which  is 
the  most  sanitary,  although  the  more  expensive  way  of 
getting  rid  of  the  wastes. 

This  dry  closet  method  is  so  important,  from  the 
standpoint  of  sanitation,  that  it  is  well  worth  while  to 
describe  it  fully.  In  the  first  place,  it  requires  abso- 
lutely fire  proof  material ;  therefore  the  vault,  floor,  and 
seats  are  constructed  of  brick  and  iron.  Everything 
must  first  fall  upon  a  grating  which  extends  the  entire 
length  of  the  vault.  Beneath  the  grating  is  a  series  of 
corrugated  spreading  plates.  Thus  the  whole  mass  is 
thoroughly  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  heated  air.  By 
this  evaporation  and  drying,  the  solid  matter  is  re- 
duced fully  three-fourths,  and  when  this  has  accumu- 
lated sufficiently,  it  may  be  entirely  destroyed  by 


62          SCHOOL   SANITATION    AND   DECORATION 

burning.  One  end  of  the  vault  is  connected  with  the 
ventilating  shaft  which  extends  far  above  the  highest 
part  of  the  roof.  Through  this  all  fumes  and  odors  are 
carried  out  into  the  open  air.  This  shaft  must  be  high 
enough  to  create  a  very  strong  draught.  The  solid  ma- 
terials that  are  left  in  the  vault  are  perfectly  dry  and 
rendered  inoffensive.  At  the  other  end  of  the  vault  is 
the  furnace  whose  function  it  is  to  heat  the  air  to  a 
high  temperature,  thus  increasing  its  capacity  for  tak- 
ing up  moisture.  Such  a  system  should  never  be  con- 
nected, even  very  remotely,  with  the  regular  heating  and 
ventilating  system  of  the  building. 

There  are  some  objections  to  this  system  aside  from 
expense.  For  instance,  it  requires  a  competent  man  on 
hand  all  the  time,  which  is  impossible  in  many  small 
schools  where  the  teacher  usually  has  to  do  the  janitor 
work.  Another  objection  arises  fr6m  the  burning  of 
the  accumulated  dried  matter,  which  must  be  done  from 
time  to  time.  This  is  apt  to  cause  complaints  in  the 
neighborhood,  as  would  a  garbage  crematory.  In  many 
instances  such  complaints  arise  from  prejudice  against 
the  system  ;  yet  sometimes,  though  not  often,  there  is 
really  cause  for  complaint.  Burning  organic  matter 
does  cause  a  disagreeable  odor,  but  as  a  rule  it  is  not 
sufficiently  offensive  to  become  unhealthful. 

If  for  any  reason  this  dry  closet  system  cannot  be 
adopted,  the  country  school  is  left  almost  nothing  to 
choose  from.  The  only  outbuildings  to  be  considered 
(these  must  be  outbuildings  in  every  sense  of  the  word, 
that  is,  must  not  be  a  part  of  the  school  building  itself) 
are  the  so-called  "  earth  closets."  These  will  not  work 
with  sanitary  satisfaction  unless  watched  very  closely. 


SANITARY  PROBLEMS   OF   THE   SCHOOLHOUSE       63 

Moule,  the  originator  of  the  system,  well  says  that 
"  earth  closets  will  no  more  work  without  dry  earth 
than  water-closets  without  water."  Sawdust  answers 
very  well  in  the  place  of  dry  earth,  but  pure  sand  and 
gravel,  or  chalk,  are  nearly  useless. 

While  earth  closets  may  be  utilized  in  the  case  of  a 
dwelling-house  with  safety,  there  are  so  many  factors 
about  the  school  which  tend  to  make  them  imprac- 
ticable that  it  is  very  doubtful  if  they  can  be  recom- 
mended for  schools. 

Where  it  is  necessary  to  devise  some  means  that  can 
be  regarded  as  perfectly  safe  by  sanitary  authorities,  it 
may  be  possible  to  adopt  an  arrangement  such  as  has 
been  successfully  tried  abroad.  The  plan  is  to  have 
large  wagons  backed  in  under  the  outhouses,  these  to 
receive  the  wastes,  and  at  night  horses  can  be  attached 
and  the  material  carted  away  and  disposed  of. 

To  return  to  a  further  consideration  of  city  schools : 
after  having  determined  that  the  water-closet  is  for 
them  the  system  to  adopt,  the  problem  arises  as  to  how 
many  closets  must  be  provided  for  a  school  of  a  given 
number. 

Newsholme  states  that  there  should  be  one  closet  for 
every  fifteen  girls,  and  one  for  every  twenty-five  boys. 
In  schools  of  higher  grade,  in  which  the  pupils  have 
recitation  periods,  these  being  never  longer  than  fifty- 
five  minutes,  this  number  might  not  be  far  out  of  the 
way ;  but  in  schools  of  lower  grades,  where  large  num- 
bers are  dismissed  at  once,  a  much  greater  number  will 
be  found  advisable  and  necessary.  The  same  problem 
arises  as  to  the  number  of  urinals  for  the  boys.  News- 
holme  gives  five  for  every  hundred,  but  here  again  this 


64         SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

number  is  far  too  small  for  the  lower  grades.  The 
larger  boys  are  apt  to  take  advantage  of  their  size  and 
make  it  very  uncomfortable  for  the  smaller  ones. 

Another  serious  question  arises  in  this  connection  : 
Is  it  advisable  to  have  each  closet  provided  with  a  sepa- 
rate door,  so  that  the  pupil  can  shut  himself  in  com- 
pletely ;  or  is  it  better  to  have  a  large  screen  in  front 
of  and  protecting  all  the  closets,  thus  permitting  the 
teacher  to  keep  an  oversight  over  the  boys.  In  the 
latter  case,  while  the  teacher  could  not  actually  be  able 
to  see  the  boys,  it  would  give  the  youngsters  a  certain 
feeling  of  insecurity  which  would  keep  them  from  doing 
mischief  that  they  might  find  an  opportunity  to  do  if 
they  could  lock  themselves  up.  This  screen  method  of 
concealment  is  not  looked  upon  by  some  as  quite  modest 
enough  for  the  best  refinement,  and  yet  when  we  con- 
sider the  harm  that  boys  can  do  to  school  property  and 
to  themselves,  it  must  be  regarded  as  an  excellent  safe- 
guard. The  good  that  might  come  from  such  an  arrange- 
ment must  be  far  in  excess  of  any  harm  from  the  possible 
unrefining  influence. 

THE    CARE    OF    THE    SCHOOL  BUILDING 

The  care  of  a  public  school  building  must  be  of  the 
very  best  in  order  to  keep  it  in  a  healthful  condition. 
One  of  the  greatest  evils  in  connection  with  the  care  of 
schools  is  the  lack  of  cleanliness ;  this  is  perhaps  more 
prevalent  in  old  school  buildings  than  in  new  ones,  be- 
cause in  the  new  buildings  there  is  usually  more  or  less 
pride  on  the  part  of  the  janitor  in  keeping  the  halls  and 
rooms  free  from  dirt,  and  on  the  part  of  the  teacher  in 
keeping  her  room  tidy  and  neat.  But,  on  the  other 


SANITARY   PROBLEMS   OF   THE   SCHOOLHOUSE       65 

hand,  it  is  the  old  school,  with  its  old  roof  and  floors,  its 
dingy  and  rattly  windows,  its  scarred  desk  and  wood- 
work, that  really  needs  the  most  care.  In  the  country 
schools,  also,  where  the  teacher  himself  usually  acts  as 
janitor,  it  cannot  be  expected  that  the  school  and  its 
surroundings  can  be  kept  in  a  very  sanitary  condition. 
It  is  an  astounding  fact  to  learn  how  many  school  build- 
ings never  get  thoroughly  cleaned.  For  example,  dur- 
ing a  careful  study  of  the  sanitary  condition  of  the 
schools  in  the  city  of  Boston  a  few  years  ago,  it  was 
found  that  the  floors  of  seventy-seven  of  the  buildings, 
or  41  per  cent  of  the  whole  number  of  schools,  had 
never  been  washed  since  laid.  It  is  true  that  in  an  old 
city  like  Boston  there  are  many  old-fashioned  and  some 
dilapidated  schools,  but  that  is  no  reason  why  an  attempt 
should  not  be  made  to  give  them  at  least  an  annual  dose 
of  soap  and  water.  We  excuse  a  man  who  has  a  ragged 
coat  if  he  keeps  himself  and  his  coat  clean.  A  rickety 
or  dilapidated  schoolhouse  is  permissible  in  so  far  as  it 
does  not  endanger  the  safety  of  the  pupils.  But  in 
order  to  be  permissible  it  must  be  kept  strictly  clean. 
Every  school  building  should  undergo  a  thorough  clean- 
ing from  top  to  bottom  every  year,  preferably  in  the 
fall,  a  few  days  before  the  opening  of  the  school.  This 
cleaning  should  not  take  place  on  the  day  before  the 
school  opens,  because,  if  done  then,  the  floors  and  walls 
would  hardly  be  dry,  and  there  would  be  a  damp  atmos- 
phere about  the  whole  building,  which  would  be  disa- 
greeable if  not  unhealthful.  The  floors  should  all  be 
thoroughly  scrubbed,  the  woodwork  washed  and  wiped, 
and  every  trace  of  the  dust  of  the  long  summer  vacation 
removed. 


66         SCHOOL   SANITATION  AND   DECORATION 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  immediately  after  the 
opening  of  the  public  schools  in  the  fall  there  is  a 
marked  increase  in  the  diseases  of  children.  It  is  not 
a  very  difficult  matter  to  explain  this.  In  the  first  place, 
the  children  are  placed  in  rooms  which  are  not  always 
clean  and  perhaps  not  well  ventilated.  This  change  in 
itself,  from  the  outdoor  vacation  life  which  they  have 
been  leading  during  the  summer,  would  explain  in  part 
the  increase  in  disease.  Then  again,  in  the  country 
schools,  particularly  where  the  water  is  supplied  from 
wells,  and  the  school  pump  has  been  idle  all  summer, 
the  water  has  become  stale  and  stagnant,  and  the  chil- 
dren are  obliged  to  drink  it.  The  fall  term  usually 
comes  in  warm  weather ;  the  children  crave  large  quan- 
tities of  water  at  such  a  time,  and  if  obliged  to  take  this 
foul,  stagnant  water,  it  is  not  strange  that  some  of  them 
are  made  sick.  These  two  factors  at  the  opening  of  the 
school  year,  namely,  the  unhealthful  school  building  and 
the  bad  water,  account  in  part  for  the  production  of  dis- 
ease. This  being  the  case,  it  is  not  difficult  to  see  that 
if  the  buildings  are  placed  in  a  sanitary  condition  before 
the  opening  of  the  school  by  being  thoroughly  aired  and 
cleaned,  one  of  these  factors  in  the  production  of  disease 
will  be  removed. 

A  few  words  about  the  dust  and  the  dirt  in  the  school- 
room are  of  interest  here.  Of  what  does  this  schoolroom 
dust  consist  ?  Much  of  it  is  brought  in  upon  the  clothes 
and  shoes  of  the  pupils,  and  much  is  blown  in  as  dust 
from  the  street.  There  are  also  small  organic  particles 
that  are  given  off  by  the  bodies  of  the  children.  Dust  is 
known  to  be  the  carrier  of  disease  germs.  Consumption 
and  many  other  infectious  diseases  are  spread  through 


SANITARY   PROBLEMS   OF   THE   SCHOOLHOUSE       67 

its  agency.  Then  again  dust  in  itself  is  an  irritant  to  the 
eyes  and  the  air  passages.  It  is,  therefore,  important 
that  all  possible  means  should  be  taken  to  keep  the 
amount  of  dust  in  the  schoolroom  down  to  a  minimum. 
It  is  the  common  practice  in  public  buildings  to  sweep 
and  dust  an  hour  or  so  before  the  people  are  gathered 
together.  This  is  the  practice  not  only  in  theatres  and 
churches,  but  also  in  many  school  buildings.  If  sweep- 
ing and  dusting  is  done  at  such  a  time,  the  dust  simply 
circulates  about  in  the  air,  so  that  when  adults  or  chil- 
dren come  together,  it  is  in  the  best  possible  position  to 
cause  them  trouble.  They  cannot  avoid  breathing  it. 
All  cleaning  of  the  school  floors  and  furniture  should 
be  done  daily  at  the  close  of  the  afternoon  session,  after 
all  the  pupils  have  left  the  buildings.  The  windows 
should  be  wide  open  during  the  process,  and  all  dust 
that  settles  on  the  desks  and  furniture  should  be  care- 
fully removed  with  a  damp  cloth.  In  order  to  prevent 
so  much  dust  from  flying  about  in  the  air  during  the 
process  of  sweeping,  it  is  advisable  to  throw  damp  saw- 
dust over  the  floor.  If  the  school  has  hard  wood  floors 
properly  laid  and  oiled,  they  may  be  kept  clean  by  wip- 
ing with  a  damp  cloth.  All  the  floors  and  the  walls 
should  be  washed  carefully  at  much  more  frequent  in- 
tervals than  is  usual,  if  any  regard  is  to  be  shown  for 
cleanliness.  The  moral  effect  of  a  clean  school  building 
must  be  recognized. 

Consider  the  unclean  and  untidy  condition  of  the 
homes  of  many  children,  and  the  effect  upon  them  of 
entering  and  becoming  a  part  of  such  schools.  A  well- 
kept  school  cannot  but  have  its  good  influence,  if  the 
child  is  made  to  feel  that  the  school  building  and  one  of 


68         SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

the  rooms  and  one  of  the  desks  belong  to  him  for  the 
time  being ;  and  if  everything  around  the  building,  the 
room,  and  the  desk  is  clean  and  neat,  the  tendency  will 
be  for  him  to  keep  the  desk  and  himself  in  the  same 
condition.  On  the  other  hand,  we  can  readily  imagine 
the  results  if  the  school  building  and  its  various  parts 
are  uncleanly. 

One  of  the  most  important  duties  of  the  school 
janitor  is  the  care  of  the  sanitaries.  The  perfection 
and  care  of  the  sanitary  arrangements  of  a  school  build- 
ing, or  of  any  building,  are  the  measure  of  the  civili- 
zation of  the  community  in  which  the  building  exists. 
The  more  perfect  the  arrangement  and  care,  the  higher 
the  civilization.  There  are  around  the  toilet  rooms  so 
many  chances  for  the  boys  to  do  all  kinds  of  mischief, 
that  it  undoubtedly  takes  a  good-natured  and  hard- 
working janitor  to  keep  things  as  they  should  be.  Nev- 
ertheless every  effort  should  be  made  on  the  part  of 
the  school  management  to  have  this  properly  done. 

In  the  care  of  the  sanitaries  it  has  been  thought  ad- 
visable sometimes  to  use  some  form  of  disinfectant  or 
deodorant.  In  many  cases  where  this  has  been  done, 
the  supposed  remedy  has  been  worse  than  the  evil  it- 
self. That  is,  many  so-called  deodorants  simply  remove 
the  foul  odor  of  the  sanitaries  by  giving  forth  a  much 
stronger  one  themselves.  It  often  happens  that  the 
odor  of  the  disinfectant  can  be  detected  throughout  the 
hallways  of  the  schoolhouse,  and  sometimes  even  in 
the  schoolrooms  themselves.  This  is  an  exceedingly 
unpleasant  feature,  because  it  is  constantly  reminding 
one  of  the  presence  of  the  sanitaries  in  the  building. 
Absolute  cleanliness,  brought  about  by  the  plentiful  use 


SANITARY  PROBLEMS   OF   THE   SCHOOLHOUSE       69 

of  water,  is  far  preferable  to  the  use  of  chemicals.  This 
cleanliness,  combined  with  good  ventilation,  will  prove 
the  best  remedy  for  bad  odors. 

Another  matter  that  deserves  attention  is  the  water 
supply.  In  many  large  cities  the  public  supply  is  pol- 
luted and  dangerous  to  drink  without  being  treated  in 
some  way.  It  is  perhaps  necessary  to  introduce  some 
form  of  filter  which  will  insure  a  safe  drinking  water. 
The  ordinary  water  tap  filters  do  not  do  very  much 
good,  and  it  is  advisable  to  use  some  such  form  of  fil- 
ter as  that  devised  by  Pasteur,  or  some  sort  of  scien- 
tific mechanical  filtration. 

The  distribution  of  pencils  has  in  late  years  been  a 
subject  of  considerable. discussion,  because  of  the  dan- 
ger of  infection.  We  know  that  the  children  suck  the 
pencils  more  or  less,  and  scratch  their  heads  with  them, 
and  so  on,  and  that  many  contagious  diseases  are  spread 
in  this  way ;  this  is  really  a  very  serious  matter.  It 
seems  advisable,  therefore,  that  except  in  the  lowest 
grades,  children  should  have  their  own  pencils  and  pens, 
and  either  keep  them  in  their  own  desks,  where  they 
will  always  be  sure  to  use  the  same  ones,  or  else  to  have 
them  collected  in  regular  cases  with  numbers,  so  that 
they  can  be  distributed  again  to  the  same  children.  As 
to  the  disinfection  of  the  pencils  and  pens,  it  does  not 
seem  necessary,  except  in  the  time  of  serious  epidemics 
when  contagious  disease  is  known  to  have  been  in  the 
school.  In  the  same  way  the  books  that  are  furnished 
to  the  children  by  the  public  authorities  should  be 
carefully  distributed  to  the  same  pupils  each  time,  and 
in  case  any  pupil  is  out  on  account  of  sickness,  it  is  ad- 
visable not  to  permit  that  pupil's  book  to  be  used  by 


70         SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

any  other  child.  If  the  sickness  proves  to  be  a  conta- 
gious disease,  the  book  should  be  burned. 

Another  subject  that  has  received  considerable  atten- 
tion is  the  matter  of  oiling  the  floors  with  some  form  of 
patent  "germicidal  "  or  "dustless  "  oil.  To  this  objec- 
tion has  been  made  by  the  teachers  and  the  girls,  on 
account  of  the  tendency  to  soil  the  dress.  If  the  oil  is 
put  down  in  the  proper  way,  so  that  there  is  not  a  suffi- 
cient amount  to  become  gummy  on  the  surface,  the  ten- 
dency to  give  off  dirt  is  slight.  The  principal  trouble 
with  such  floors  is  that  the  janitor  does  not  take  the 
pains  to  clean  them  as  carefully  or  as  often  as  he  does 
the  ordinary  dusty  floors.  Consequently,  the  oily  or 
gummy  surface  becomes  laden  with  dust,  and  when 
swept  by  the  girls'  and  teachers'  dresses  naturally  gives 
up  some  of  the  dirt.  If  these  floors  are  very  gummy,  it 
shows  that  they  have  not  been  properly  oiled,  and  it  is 
necessary  to  give  them  a  scrubbing  with  gasolene  in 
order  to  remove  the  gummy  surface.  From  the  sani- 
tary standpoint,  too  much  cannot  be  said  in  favor  of 
floors  treated  with  some  such  oil.  In  many  examina- 
tions of  the  bacteriological  contents  of  the  air  of  rooms 
that  have  these  oiled  floors,  the  results  invariably  show 
a  smaller  number  of  bacteria  than  do  similar  examina- 
tions made  in  rooms  whose  floors  have  not  been  so 
treated.  The  ease  with  which  they  are  swept,  and  the 
absence  of  flying  dust  during  the  process  of  sweeping, 
are  also  important  factors  in  their  favor. 

These  points  concerning  the  care  of  a  school  building 
show  very  clearly  the  need  of  some  systematic  sanitary 
inspection.  In  thus  speaking  of  sanitary  inspection, 
it  is  not  intended  to  include  in  the  term  any  portion  of 


SANITARY   PROBLEMS   OF   THE   SCHOOLHOUSE       71 

what  is  usually  called  medical  inspection  of  schools. 
That  will  be  treated  in  another  chapter.  Sanitary  in- 
spection, as  the  term  is  used  here,  applies  simply  to 
the  building.  Every  town  and  city  should  have  at 
least  one  sanitary  inspector  of  schools,  who  should  visit 
every  school  before  the  fall  opening,  and  see  that  it  is 
put  in  the  proper  condition  for  the  assemblage  of  the 
pupils.  If  it  is  not  in  what  he  considers  a  proper  con- 
dition at  the  appointed  day,  school  should  be  dismissed 
until  such  time  as  he  pronounces  the  school  building  fit 
for  use.  In  many  states  there  is  a  more  or  less  syste- 
matic inspection  of  this  kind,  but  usually  the  inspection 
of  any  school  does  not  take  place  until  it  is  rumored 
abroad  that  the  school  in  question  is  in  an  unsanitary 
condition,  and  usually  this  rumor  does  not  start  until 
the  unsanitary  conditions  are  extreme.  But  a  regular 
sanitary  inspection  of  all  schools  should  take  place  at 
stated  intervals,  not  less  frequently  than  once  a  month, 
and  the  sanitary  inspector  should  either  have  the  power 
himself  to  close  the  building,  if  he  considers  it  unsani- 
tary, or  he  should  be  responsible  to  some  higher  author- 
ity, such  as  the  State  Board  of  Health.  His  inspection 
should  include  the  general  cleanliness  of  the  building 
and  the  school  yard,  the  care  of  the  basement  and  sani- 
taries,  the  operation  of  the  heating  and  ventilating  sys- 
tem, and  he  should  watch  very  closely  to  see  whether 
the  janitor  attends  to  all  his  duties.  His  visits  to  the 
school  should  not  be  made  on  any  regular  day  or  at  any 
regular  time.  In  this  way  he  would  see  things  as  they 
actually  exist,  and  not  expressly  polished  in  anticipation 
of  his  visit. 

In  view  of  the  unsanitary  condition  of  many  of  our 


72         SCHOOL  SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

schools,  particularly  of  the  older  ones,  such  a  system  of 
sanitary  inspection  cannot  be  too  strongly  urged.  In 
many  cities  there  have  been  introduced  systems  of  dairy 
inspection  by  which  the  cow  barns  and  the  cows  them- 
selves are  carefully  examined  and  strictly  watched.  Is 
it  not  peculiar  that  dairy  barns  and  cows  are  of  more 
sanitary  importance  to  the  public  than  our  public  schools 
and  the  pupils  ? 

It  is  true  that  food  comes  from  these  dairies.  But, 
on  the  other  hand,  we  are  sending  our  own  children  to 
be  housed  in  buildings  that  often  need  inspection  far 
more  than  many  of  these  dairy  barns. 


ESCAPED   COW 

From  painting  by  Dupre 


Suitable  for  a  poorly  lighted  space 
in  a  lower  grade  room.  The  con- 
trasts are  strong,  but  the  picture  as 
a  whole  is  full  of  light.  Subject  of 


72         SCHOOL  SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

schools,  partiv  ;er  ones,  such  a  system    >l 

sanitary  r    .  »  too  strongly  urged.     1 

troduced  systems  of  dairy 

>arns  and  the  cows  them- 

^ed  and  strictly  watched.     Is 

s  and  cows  are  of   more 

lie  than  our  public  schools 

•  rom  these  dairies.     But, 
ing  our  own  children  to 
:jsrs  that   often  need  inspection  far 
nese  dairy  barns. 


woo 

siqud  \d  gniJnisq 


b9lri§il  ^hooq  B  1 
-noo  arlT     .mooi  sb£i§  iswol  JB  ni 


Jo3idu8     .Jrl§il  lo  IIul  ai  aloriw 
oJ 


CHAPTER   V 

SCHOOL    FURNITURE 

DESKS  and  seats  are  the  most  important  articles  of 
school  furniture,  and  it  is  unfortunate  that  authorities 
on  this  subject  are  not  agreed  as  to  their  best  form. 

It  is  well  to  remember  at  the  outset  that  no  form 
of  desk  or  seat  will  obviate  the  evils  of  long  continu- 
ance in  any  one  position.  This  leads  to  imperfect 
expansion  of  the  lungs,  relaxation  of  muscles,  and  a 
tendency  to  drooping  shoulders,  if  not  actually  to  a 
twist  in  the  spinal  column. 

There  are  various  bad  forms  of  desks.  The  desk 
may  be  too  high,  in  which  case,  during  writing,  one 
shoulder  is  unduly  raised  in  order  to  rest  the  arm  on 
the  desk,  and  a  lateral  twist  of  the  spine  results,  which 
in  time  tends  to  become  persistent.  If  the  desk  is 
too  low,  the  scholar  has  to  bend  too  far  over  his  work. 
A  forward  stoop  and  round  shoulders  are  produced, 
the  head  becomes  congested  from  being  held  so  low, 
and  there  is  a  strong  tendency  toward  the  development 
of  near-sightedness. 

A  flat  desk  is  particularly  bad,  necessitating  a  cramped 
position  and  interference  with  free  respiration.  If  the 
desk  is  too  far  from  the  seat,  a  forward  stoop,  with 
round  shoulders,  flat  chest,  and  injury  to  the  eyes  are 
produced. 

73 


74         SCHOOL  SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

Seats,  again,  may  be  badly  placed.  If  the  seat  is  too 
high,  the  feet  swing,  the  blood  vessels  and  nerves  at 
the  back  of  the  legs  are  compressed,  and  the  sensation 
of  "  pins  and  needles "  is  produced.  This  is  also  apt 
to  occur  if,  as  is  commonly  the  case,  the  seat  is  too 
narrow  to  support  the  whole  length  of  the  thigh.  If 
too  low,  the  thighs  are  bent  up  toward  the  body,  and 
a  cramped  position  is  produced.  If  without  a  back- 
rest, or  with  an  improperly  adapted  back-rest,  the  pupil 
tends  to  lean  forward  on  the  desk  and  thus  to  prevent 
free  expansion  of  the  lungs. 

According  to  Eulenberg,  a  distinguished  German 
orthopaedic  surgeon,  90  per  cent  of  curvatures  of  spine 
not  caused  by  actual  bone  disease  are  developed  during 
school  life.  Bad  postures  during  school  work,  and  es- 
pecially the  twisted  position,  with  the  left  arm  resting 
on  the  desk  during  writing  lessons,  contribute  consid- 
erably to  the  production  of  such  curvatures.  The 
effects  are  much  more  likely  to  be  produced  if  the 
desk  and  seat  are  not  properly  adapted  to  each  other 
and  to  the  size  of  the  pupil.  An  upright  position  in 
writing  is  indispensable,  and  the  left  elbow  should  not 
be  allowed  to  rest  high  up  on  the  desk.  Writing  should 
be  continued  for  only  a  few  minutes  in  primary  and  in- 
termediate classes,  and  in  higher  classes  not  longer  than 
half  an  hour  without  intermission. 

The  cramped  positions  induced  by  defective  desks 
and  seats  not  only  favor  the  production  of  a  twisted 
spine,  but  also  round  shoulders  and  flat  chest,  thus 
impeding  the  functions  of  heart  and  lungs.  The  habit 
of  leaning  forward,  close  over  the  copy-book,  may  pro- 
duce short-sightedness ;  and  this  in  its  turn  increases 


SCHOOL  FURNITURE  75 

the  necessity  for  the  improper  postures.  Thus  a  vi- 
cious circle  is  entered,  each  evil  mutually  intensifying 
the  other. 

Proper  desks  and  seats  should  be  accurately  adapted 
to  each  other.  The  most  important  points  to  ascertain 
are:  (i)  the  "distance,"  i.e.,  the  distance  between  the 
edge  of  the  seat  and  a  perpendicular  line  dropped  from 
the  edge  of  the  desk;  (2)  the  "difference,"  i.e.,  the  dif- 
ference between  the  height  of  the  seat  and  desk  ;  and  (3) 
the  slope  of  the  desk. 

The  distance  should,  for  writing  purposes,  equal  zero, 
—  the  plumb  line  from  the  desk  grazing  the  edge  of  the 
seat, — or  it  should  be  a  negative  quantity.  For  other 
purposes  the  distance  should  equal  zero  or  a  small  posi- 
tive quantity.  This  involves  having  a  movable  seat, 
unless  chairs  are  used,  which  is  inadvisable  in  boys' 
schools.  Or,  the  same  end  may  be  attained  by  using  a 
desk  so  constructed  that  it  can  be  drawn  horizontally 
backward,  so  as  to  enable  the  scholar  to  write  while  sit- 
ting erect,  or  resting  his  back  against  the  back  of  the 
seat.  When  the  scholar  is  too  far  away  from  the  desk, 
he  either  bends  forward  into  an  unnatural  position,  or 
glides  too  far  forward  on  his  seat,  and  occupies  an  un- 
steady position. 

The  difference  between  height  of  seat  and  desk  should 
not  be  such  that  the  shoulders  are  painfully  screwed  up 
in  writing,  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  should  the  pupil  be 
obliged  to  lean  forward  in  order  to  write  or  read.  It 
is  recommended  that  it  should  equal  the  length  of  the 
forearm,  or  about  one-sixth  the  height  of  the  scholar 
(Robson). 

The  slope  of  the  desk  should  be  capable  of  change, 


76         SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

the  proper  angle  being  about  30°  for  writing  and  40°  to 
45°  for  reading. 

The  height  of  the  seat  should  correspond  to  the  length 
of  the  scholar's  leg  from  the  sole  of  the  foot  to  the  knee, 
in  order  that  there  may  be  no  stretching  of  muscles. 
Its  width  should  not  be  less  than  eight  inches. 

There  should  be  a  back  to  the  seat,  which  need  not  be 
more  than  a  piece  of  wood  three  inches  broad,  slightly 
tilted  back,  and  so  placed  as  to  support  the  back  just  be- 
low the  shoulder  blades.  In  this  way  the  movements 
are  not  interfered  with,  while  the  spine  receives  steady 
support.  Liebreich  gives  the  rule  that  the  top  of  the 
seat  should  be  an  inch  lower  than  the  edge  of  the  desk 
for  boys,  and  an  inch  higher  than  the  same  point  for 
girls.  Long  desks  are,  as  a  rule,  objectionable  ;  children 
tend  to  sit  with  the  left  arm  high  up  on  the  desk,  in 
order  to  prevent  copying  by  their  neighbors,  and  thus 
produce  twisting  of  the  spine.  The  same  objection 
holds  to  a  less  extent  against  dual  desks,  but  they  pos- 
sess the  advantage  of  not  spreading  out  the  children  so 
much  as  single  desks,  and  thus  economize  the  teacher's 
voice.  They  also  suffice  for  three,  when  listening  to  a 
lesson. 

It  is  a  common  fault  to  furnish  a  room  with  desks  of 
only  one  size.  There  should  be  three  sizes  of  desks 
in  each  large  classroom,  as  there  may  be  great  diver- 
sity of  height  among  children  differing  only  two  or 
three  years  in  age.  A  foot-rest  should  always  be  pro- 
vided for  children  varying  considerably  from  the  usual 
stature. 

Adjustable  desks  are  among  the  important  improve- 
ments of  school  furniture.  There  are  several  forms  on 


SCHOOL  FURNITURE  77 

the  market,  and  the  main  objection  to  all  of  them  is  the 
price,  making  it  almost  an  impossibility  to  supply  whole 
schoolrooms  with  them.  From  the  hygienic  standpoint, 
each  child  should  have  his  desk  adjusted  to  himself; 
but  where  this  is  impossible,  it  has  been  found  of  ad- 
vantage to  have  two  rows  of  desks  and  seats,  usually 
the  outer  ones,  adjustable.  Extreme  cases  can  thus 
be  accommodated. 


FIG.  ii.  — ADJUSTABLE  DESK. 

Several  different  forms  of  adjustable  desks  are  made. 
The  best  form  provides  not  only  for  an  adjustment  of 
the  height  of  seat  and  desk,  but  also  for  a  change  in  the 
slope  of  the  top  of  desk,  to  adapt  to  the  different  posi- 
tions required  in  reading,  in  writing,  and  in  the  new  sys- 
tem of  vertical  writing  (Fig.  11).  The  sitting  position 
in  this  last  seems  to  have  much  to  recommend  it  from 
the  standpoint  of  hygiene,  and  if  the  good  reports  con- 


78         SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

tinue  in  regard  to  the  results  obtained  from  it,  the  favor 
of  medical  men  and  sanitarians  is  assured. 

The  blackboard  should  be  large.  It  should  be  so 
placed  as  to  receive  a  good  light,  and  its  surface  should 
be  dull.  The  windows  of  the  schoolroom  should  not  be 
on  the  same  wall  as  the  blackboard,  for  in  that  case 
the  children's  eyes  are  dazzled  in  looking  at  the  board. 

Natural  slate  is  acknowledged  to  be  the  best  material 
for  school  blackboards  ;  next  in  desirability  are  some 
of  the  artificial  slatings  or  liquid  blackboard  prepara- 
tions. A  serious  fault  with  some  of  these  preparations 
is  that  they  are  injured  by  the  application  of  wet 
erasers. 

The  school  floor,  while  it  may  not  be  .usually  classed 
as  a  part  of  the  school  furniture,  is  of  importance  with 
reference  to  the  healthfulness  of  the  room.  Floors  that 
are  full  of  cracks  and  otherwise  rough  are  hard  to  keep 
clean.  Rooms  with  such  floors  cannot  be  kept  free 
from  dust.  These  cracks,  moreover,  may  become  the 
breeding  places  of  bacteria  and  disease  germs,  should 
the  floors  ever  become  damp. 

Cheaply  constructed  school  floors  are  cold  and  cause 
the  children  much  suffering  during  the  winter  months. 
Catarrhal  troubles  and  other  affections  are  among  the 
results  of  permitting  children  to  sit  with  cold  feet. 
Wood  floors  at  best  tend  to  be  noisy,  and  in  several 
foreign  countries  methods  have  been  devised  to  prevent 
this.  The  best  floors  for  this  purpose  are  those  used  in 
London,  consisting  of  blocks  of  wood,  with  asphalted 
joints,  placed  on  a  bed  of  cement.  In  France  and 
Germany  a  similar  method  is  used,  parquet  sections  or 
narrow  boards  of  some  hard  wood  are  imbedded  in  a 


SCHOOL  FURNITURE  79 

layer  of  asphalt.  Such  floors  remain  firm  and  free  from 
cracks,  are  warm,  and  easily  kept  clean.  They  are  also 
comparatively  noiseless.  It  is  claimed  that  they  are 
not  expensive,  when  the  life  of  the  floor  is  taken  into 
account. 

In  schools  of  considerable  size,  there  should  always 
be  a  hospital  room,  a  place  where  sick  pupils  and 
teachers  can  find  seclusion  and  some  of  the  necessary 
comforts.  This  is  best  situated  directly  adjoining  the 
principal's  office.  It  should  be  provided  with  lounge 
or  cot,  lavatories  and  water-closet,  a  few  common  medi- 
cines necessary  for  emergencies,  in  fact,  a  regular  emer- 
gency kit  with  absorbent  cotton,  bandages,  lint,  salves, 
and  dressings,  hamamelis,  and  anything  that  might 
come  in  use  in  case  of  accident  or  sudden  sickness. 

This  convenience  is  too  often  lacking  in  our  large 
schools,  and  provision  should  be  made  by  the  architect 
for  such  a  room.  It  might  not  be  used  often,  but  when 
the  need  comes,  it  is  imperative  to  have  something  of 
this  sort. 

The  provision  of  baths  in  the  public  schools  is  a 
matter  of  great  importance,  not  only  in  the  city  schools, 
but  in  the  country  schools  as  well.  In  the  large  cities 
many  are  the  children  that  come  to  school  in  a  con- 
dition unfit  to  associate  with  the  other  pupils ;  and  in 
the  majority  of  such  cases  there  is  no  opportunity  in 
their  homes  for  taking  a  good  bath.  Therefore  there 
would  be  little  good  accomplished  by  sending  these 
children  home  and  not  allowing  them  to  return  until 
they  were  in  a  fit  condition.  They  should  be  provided 
with  the  opportunity  to  have  baths,  and,  if  necessary, 
at  certain  times  there  should  be  attendants  to  look 


80         SCHOOL  SANITATION  AND  DECORATION 

after  children  that  need  the  baths,  particularly  for  the 
younger  ones.  The  importance  of  a  clean  skin  should 
be  always  emphasized  before  school  children,  and  there 
is  no  better  way  to  do  this  than  to  give  them  the  best 
facilities  to  practice  what  is  preached. 

Some  parents  are  apt  to  look  upon  this  innovation 
as  to  some  extent  interfering  with  their  business,  but 
in  such  instances  the  objection  is  usually  due  to  igno- 
rance, and  a  little  firmness  and  tact  will  overcome  it. 

There  are  questions  that  arise  as  to  the  best  outfit  to 
provide  for  this  purpose,  whether  the  shower  bath,  the 
bath-tub,  or  the  swimming  tank.  Probably  the  latter 
would  receive  the  most  commendation  from  the  boys. 
It  would  be  more  expensive,  however,  than  either  of 
the  others,  and  for  the  average  school  the  shower  bath 
with  the  bath-tub,  or  even  the  shower  bath  by  itself, 
would  answer  most  purposes.  Schools  should  always 
be  provided  with  places  where  the  children  can  wash 
their  hands  after  visiting  the  sanitaries.  Such  an 
opportunity  should  not  be  simply  provided,  but  rather 
forced  upon  the  pupils.  It  should  not  be  necessary  for 
the  pupil  to  run  out  to  the  school  pump  or  up  a  flight 
of  stairs  in  order  to  do  this.  So  that  wash-stands  and 
towels  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  sanitaries  should  be 
among  the  essential  furnishings  of  the  school. 

It  is  often  the  custom  in  school  to  supply  the  drink- 
ing water  to  the  children  in  buckets.  A  bucket  of 
water  is  placed  in  each  room  or  hallway,  and  each 
bucket  is  provided  with  one  or  two  drinking  cups. 
Such  a  system  is  deplorable,  and  is  undoubtedly  the 
cause  of  spreading  much  disease.  Any  system  that 
compels  the  pupil  to  dip  the  common  cup  or  his  indi- 


SCHOOL   FURNITURE 


81 


vidual  cup  into  a  bucket  containing  a  general  supply 
should  never  be  permitted.  A  reservoir  or  tank  with  a 
faucet  should  be  supplied  wherever  it  is  impossible  to 
have  running  water,  and  in  any  case  each  child  should 
have  his  individual  cup.  The  expense  of  this  reservoir 
should  not  be  considered.  Where  there  is  no  public 
water  supply  such  a  tank  is  the  only  method  of  dis- 


FIG.  12.  — SANITARY  DRINKING  FOUNTAIN. 

tributing   the   drinking   water   throughout   the    school 
building  that  has  the  sanction  of  sanitarians. 

Even  where  running  water  is  provided,  individual 
drinking  cups  must  be  supplied,  if  not  by  the  school 
authorities  by  the  children  themselves.  If  for  any  rea- 
son the  individual  cup  system  is  not  feasible,  the  cups 
that  are  provided  must  stand  under  running  water, 
that  is,  they  must  receive  a  continuous  washing.  The 
faucet  should  be  open  and  running  all  the  time  during 
school  hours. 


82         SCHOOL  SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

The  best  improvement  that  has  developed  along  this 
line  is  the  so-called  "  Sanitary  Drinking  Fountain,"  and 
by  this  arrangement  all  danger  of  spreading  disease 
by  the  cup  is  removed.  Such  a  fountain  is  shown  in 
Fig.  12.  As  can  be  seen,  there  is  a  continuous  stream 
or  jet  of  water  rising  three  or  four  inches,  and  the  child 
simply  stoops  over  and  allows  this  jet  to  enter  the 
mouth,  as  shown  in  the  illustration.  With  this  arrange- 
ment there  is  no  chance  for  the  water  to  be  used  over 
again,  and  thus  no  opportunity  is  afforded  for  the  spread 
of  contagious  diseases.  These  fountains  are  in  use  in 
several  schools  and  public  places,  and  receive  almost 
universal  approval. 


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PLATE  XV.  — WINDOW  GARDEN   IN  A  SECOND  GRADE   ROOM, 
GARFIELD   SCHOOL,    PASADENA,   CALIFORNIA. 

A  decorative  hit.     Notice  the  effects  of  dark  against  light  in  the  window,  and  of 
light  against  dark  upon  the  blinds. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  SCHOOLROOM 
ITS  CHARACTER 

THE  modern  schoolroom  is  a  workshop,  consequently 
its  appointment  should  be  convenient.  It  is  a  study, 
hence  it  should  be  pleasant  and  stocked  with  reference 
material.  But  it  is  also  a  living  room  for  children  ex- 
tremely sensitive  to  impression,  therefore  it  should  be 
as  beautiful  as  a  favored  home.  Of  course  a  Wilton 
velvet  carpet  would  be  out  of  place  beneath  the  restless 
feet  of  sixty  children  ;  upholstered  furniture  would  be 
absurd  in  a  room  hourly  powdered  with  chalk-dust  ;  and 
lace  curtains  would  be  ridiculous  with  window  gardens 
and  a  man  janitor !  But  beauty  is  not  dependent  upon 
these  things,  it  depends  solely  upon  harmonious  rela- 
tions of  parts  to  each  other  and  to  the  whole,  and  of  the 
whole  to  its  conditions  and  functions.  Floors  made  of 
hard  wood,  that  they  may  be  cleanly  and  durable ;  finish 
honest  and  substantial,  to  withstand  the  wear  and  tear 
of  daily  use  ;  furnishings  simple  and  appropriate  —  these 
may  be  combined  to  produce  a  whole  which  looks  invit- 
ing, neat  and  businesslike,  yet  refined  and  rich,  a  place 
of  stimulating  ideals. 

Such  schoolrooms  do  not  come  by  accident  —  they 
are  carefully  planned,  and  every  effect  is  calculated. 
The  work  of  the  decorator  begins  as  soon  as  the  walls 

83 


84         SCHOOL  SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

are  rough  plastered.  He  must  consider  the  wood  suita- 
ble for  finishing,  the  tints  for  walls  and  ceiling,  the  fur- 
niture, curtains,  and  all  other  accessories.  Such  matters 
should  be  intrusted  to  an  architect,  decorator,  or  other 
competent  person  —  seldom  a  member  of  the  school 
committee  or  of  the  building  committee. 

FINISH 

Undoubtedly  the  best  wood  to  be  used  for  finish  is 
quartered  oak.  It  is  durable,  tough,  and  compact  in 
texture,  with  a  surface  broken  by  the  grain  into  pleasing 
varieties  of  color,  yet  of  sufficient  uniformity  in  hue  to 
give  a  warm  and  rich  general  tone  to  the  finish  as  a 
whole.  Moreover,  its  color  becomes  deeper  and  more 
mellow  with  age. 

Ash  is  less  expensive  and  almost  as  durable.  The 
grain  of  the  wood  is  coarser  and  its  color  contrasts  are 
more  marked,  but  the  color  is  on  the  whole  somewhat 
lighter  than  that  of  oak.  On  this  account  ash  is  a  de- 
sirable wood  for  rooms  where  the  illumination  is  not  so 
strong  as  it  should  be,  and  for  hallways,  stair-cases,  and 
coat  rooms. 

North  Carolina  pine  is  perhaps  the  most  satisfactory 
among  the  cheaper  woods.  When  well  seasoned  the 
surface  becomes  extremely  hard.  Its  color  is  especially 
cheerful  and  interesting.  For  portions  of  the  building 
inadequately  lighted  this  wood  is  even  better  than  ash, 
but  the  grain  is  so  prominent,  with  its  erratic  lines  and 
strong  contrasts  of  color,  that  it  is  likely  to  be  obtrusive 
in  a  well-lighted  room,  unless  the  other  furnishings  are 
keyed  up  to  the  same  pitch  of  brilliancy. 


THE  SCHOOLROOM  85 

White  wood  varies  so  much  in  color,  and  changes  so 
diversely  when  exposed  to  light,  that  were  its  texture 
sufficiently  close  and  hard  to  withstand  the  exigencies 
of  daily  use,  it  would  be  a  difficult  wood  to  manage  in 
any  decorative  scheme.  When  fresh  the  wood  has  a 
warm  creamy  tone,  often  tinged  with  green  ;  under 
strong  light  it  may  become  in  the  course  of  a  year  or 
two  almost  as  dark  as  antique  oak  or  black  walnut,  with 
here  and  there  a  streak  practically  unchanged.  It  is 
evident  that  such  changes  in  the  wood  might  demand 
changes  in  the  color  of  walls  and  furnishings,  if  close 
harmony  is  to  be  maintained.  It  is  possible,  of  course, 
by  carefully  selecting  the  stock,  to  avoid  sappy  wood 
and  thus  reduce  the  developing  of  color  contrasts  to  the 
minimum ;  and  if  this  is  done,  the  ripened  hues  of 
curly  whitewood  finish  rival  those  of  quartered  oak. 
Whitewood  has  been  much  used  because  of  its  readiness 
to  absorb  and  hold  various  kinds  of  prepared  stains, 
which  give  pleasing  effects  of  color  without  obliterating 
the  varieties  of  the  grain  of  the  wood,  but  for  school- 
rooms the  natural  wood  colors  are  usually  preferable. 

Whatever  the  wood  selected,  the  finish  must  be  sim- 
ple. Deep  channels  in  the  moldings,  or  members  in 
high  relief,  are  to  be  avoided.  The  simpler  and  more 
refined  the  form,  the  better.  The  surface  may  be 
treated  with  a  preparation  of  wax,  or  any  other  good 
filling,  and  shellacked,  varnished,  or  oiled,  according  to 
circumstances  ;  but  whatever  the  process,  the  result 
should  be  a  smooth,  hard,  "  dead  finish,"  as  the  painters 
say,  not  a  highly  polished  surface,  reflecting  the  light 
like  a  glass  bottle,  but  a  surface  rubbed  down  to  a  soft 
luster. 


86         SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

Painted  finish  is  to  be  recommended  chiefly  in  the 
restoration  of  old  schoolrooms.  Paint  will  cover  a  mul- 
titude of  scars.  Moreover,  it  may  be  of  any  color,  and 
on  that  account  is  more  tractable  than  natural  wood.  A 
painted  surface  should  have  the  dead  finish  already  men- 
tioned, obtainable  by  the  use  of  certain  mediums  well 
known  to  house  painters,  and  should  be  free  from  brush 
marks  or  roughnesses  of  any  sort.  The  best  ground  for 
a  painted  surface  is  undoubtedly  extra  quality  soft  pine, 
the  cost  of  which  plus  the  cost  of  painting  is  about  equal 
to  the  cost  of  hard  wood  finish.  Owing  to  the  softness 
of  pine,  and  the  readiness  of  paint  to  show  dents  or 
scratches,  the  hard  wood  finish  is  preferable. 

WALLS    AND    CEILING 

The  mason  should  leave  a  hard,  smooth-finished  sur- 
face for  the  decorator  to  enrich.  Rough  plaster  is  not 
best  in  a  room  so  often  filled  with  dust,  and  the  final  or 
skim-coat  should  be  white.  Tinted  plaster  or  skim-coat- 
ing has  not  proved  itself  altogether  successful.  Given, 
then,  the  smooth,  white  walls  and  ceiling,  their  proper 
tinting  is  the  next  problem. 

First,  one  must  consider  the  sort  of  light  that  the 
room  receives.  If  the  windows  look  toward  the  south, 
there  will  be  direct  sunlight  during  school  hours  ;  if 
toward  the  north,  the  room  will  have  little  or  no  sun- 
shine ;  if  the  outlook  is  eastward  or  westward,  the  sun 
will  shine  into  the  room  morning  or  afternoon  only. 
The  room  must  be  cheerful,  but  not  too  brilliant  in 
color.  A  room  into  which  only  the  cold  north  light 
comes  needs  to  be  colored  in  delicate  tints  of  yellow  and 


THE   SCHOOLROOM  87 

orange-yellow  to  give  an  impression  of  warmth  and  light, 
while  rooms  having  direct  sunlight  need  the  cooler  and 
deeper  tints  of  green,  blue-green,  and  gray.  As  a  rule, 
all  the  stronger  tones  of  blue,  and  the  intermediate  hues 
to  violet,  are  to  be  avoided  ;  they  are  either  unpleasantly 
cold  or  aggressive  and  insistent.  Red  and  all  its  imme- 
diate relatives  should  be  excluded,  because  such  colors 
are  trying  to  the  eye.  Knowing,  then,  whether  the 
scheme  of  the  room  should  be  warm  or  cool,  as  the  ar- 
tists say,  that  is,  whether  the  yellows  or  the  greens  are 
to  furnish  the  prevailing  colors,  the  precise  hue  and  value 
of  color  for  walls  and  for  ceiling  must  be  next  determined. 

The  key  to  this  problem  is  to  be  found  in  the  wood- 
work, the  finish  of  the  room.  All  harmonies  of  color 
are,  according  to  Ruskin's  classification,  harmonies  of 
analogy  or  harmonies  of  contrast,  or,  to  state  it  another 
way,  harmonies  of  colors  which  vary  but  slightly  in  hue, 
like  yellow  and  orange,  or  of  colors  which  differ  widely 
in  hue,  as  do  yellow  and  blue,  or  red  and  green. 

The  color  of  the  walls  should  therefore  harmonize 
with  the  woodwork  either  by  analogy  or  by  contrast. 
Suppose  the  finish  to  be  of  oak.  An  examination  of 
the  polished  wood  will  show  that  the  general  color  of 
the  surface  is  made  up  of  irregular  spots  and  lines 
of  various  colors,  dull  yellow,  dull  orange  and  brown, 
with  many  varieties  of  these.1  The  colors  which  har- 
monize with  these  by  analogy  are  tints  of  yellow  and 
orange,  in  popular  phrase,  —  "cream,"  "buff,"  "the  wood 

1  With  our  present  uncertain  color  nomenclature  it  is  impossible  to  de- 
scribe colors  accurately  in  popular  terms.  To  one  familiar  with  the  Brad- 
ley system,  the  following  would  be  more  definite :  oak  colors  are  broken 
shades  of  OY,  YO,  O,  RO  ;  their  contrasts  are  in  the  BG,  GB,  and  B  scales. 


88         SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

colors,"  "tan,"  and  "light  brown."  Those  which  har- 
monize by  contrast  are  the  hues  between  blue  and  green, 

—  the  "green  grays,"  "light  olive,"  "tea,"  "light  robin's 
egg,"  and  similar  colors.1    If  the  room  is  a  comparatively 
dark  room,  finished  in  oak,  the  lighter  colors  of  the 
grain  will  give  the  hue  to  the  walls,  and  the  lightest 
colors  the  hue  for  the  ceiling,  both  of  course  lightened 

somewhat  by  the  addition  of 
white.  If  the  room  has  a 
south  exposure,  the  contrast- 

*n&  c°l°rs  w*^  De  usedi  or  if 
the  analogous  colors  are  pre- 
ferred, they  will  be  dulled  and 
darkened  to  counteract  the 
effect  of  the  excessive  light. 
The  conditions  vary  slightly 

•  J 

if  ash  or  North  Carolina  pine 
is  used.     The  pine  is  in  effect 
slightly    warmer    or    redder 
_ j  than  the  oak,  or  yellower,  ac- 

ne. 13. -COLOR  DIAGRAM.       cording  to  the  predominance 

of  light  or  dark  streaks  in  the 

grain.  Ash  is  usually  yellower  than  oak,  hence  its  con- 
trasting colors  average  a  little  bluer.  Perhaps  a  diagram 
will  make  this  matter  clearer.  The  letters,  following  the 
Bradley  system,  are  the  initials  of  the  prismatic  colors, 

—  red,  orange,  yellow,  green,  blue,  and  violet.     Their 
combination,  as  YO,  means  a  yellow-orange,  an  orange 

1  With  our  present  uncertain  color  nomenclature  it  is  impossible  to  de- 
scribe colors  accurately  in  popular  terms.  To  one  familar  with  the  Brad- 
ley system,  the  following  would  be  more  definite ;  oak  colors  are  broken 
shades  of  OY,  YO,  O,  RO  ;  their  contrasts  are  in  the  BG,  GB,  and  B  scales. 


THE   SCHOOLROOM 


89 


tinged  with  yellow ;  O Y  a  yellow  tinged  with  orange ; 
etc.  Of  course  the  colors  of  the  woods  are  merely  tints 
or  shades  of  these  colors,  never  the  pure  colors  them- 
selves. Brilliant  colors  should  be  used  sparingly,  as,  for 

example,  in  a  narrow  stripe  along     

the  edge  of  the  ceiling  or  wall,  or    \  4  / 

in  a  bit  of  still  life  upon  the  book-  \ 
case  or  elsewhere.  The  tone  of 
the  walls  in  hallways  may  be 
rather  strong  and  rich,  but  in 
schoolrooms  it  should  not  be  so 
dark  as  to  appear  heavy,  or  so 
delicate  as  to  soil  easily.  It 
should  not  be  so  gray  as  to  ap- 
pear colorless,  or  so  brilliant  as 
to  attract  more  attention  than  the 

pictures  and  casts  for  which  it  is 

,       ,  j      ~,  FIG.  14.  — TONE  DIAGRAM. 

to  serve  as  a  background.    To  give 

explicit  directions  for  properly  toning  any  room  is  impos- 
sible, but  the  following  will  not  lead  one  far  astray :  — 

i.  Determine  the  scheme  of  the  room,  —  warm  or 
cool  in  tone.  2.  Select  a  tint  for  the  ceiling  (#).  Let 
it  be  a  very  light  tint  of  some  color  found  in  the  finish, 
or  of  a  contrasting  color.  3.  Make  the  wall  (<£)  a  middle 
value  between  the  ceiling  color  (a)  and  the  general  tone 
of  the  finish  (c).  4.  If  stripes  are  to  be  added  for  a 
frieze  or  border  (d),  they  may  repeat  the  color  of  the 
ceiling  or  of  the  woodwork  or  both,  or  may  have  a  more 
brilliant  color  in  harmony  with  the  finish.1  Strong  con- 

1  Figured  borders  applied  with  stencils,  if  very  simple  and  quiet  in  color, 
may  be  a  pleasing  feature,  but,  as  a  rule,  it  is  safer  to  be  content  with  the 
stripes. 


90         SCHOOL   SANITATION  AND   DECORATION 

trasts  are  to  be  avoided.  The  blackboards  and  the  ven- 
tilators are  the  unmanageable  elements.  The  blackboard 
is  a  necessary  part  of  the  equipment  in  a  public  school, 
and  the  sensitive  decorator  can  do  no  better  than  to 
ignore  it.  Fortunately,  if  slate  is  used,  the  general  tone 
soon  becomes  softened  to  a  neutral  gray.  The  venti- 
lators should  not  be  left  black  in  color  unless  they  come 
in  a  blackboard.  If  they  come  in  the  wall  space  above 
the  blackboard,  they  should  be  toned  by  means  of  paint 
or  bronzes  to  some  harmonizing  color.  If  painted  the 
color  of  the  wall,  they  soon  become  discolored  by  dust. 
Ventilators  are  of  iron,  and  therefore  some  metallic 
finish  is  best,  frankly  different  from  the  finish  of  both 
plaster  and  wood,  and  yet  of  a  tone  to  harmonize  with 
the  color  scheme  of  the  room. 

Having  determined  the  color  for  the  walls,  the  medium 
and  its  application  are  important.  The  various  water- 
color  preparations  are  cheaper  than  oil  color,  but  less 
durable.  An  oil  paint  properly  applied  will  not  peel  off, 
or  be  discolored  by  water  leaking  through  from  the 
outside.  If  soiled,  it  can  be  washed ;  and  if  occasion 
requires,  the  color  can  be  matched  perfectly.  The  walls 
and  ceiling  should  have  two  or  three  coats,  the  last  one 
to  be  stippled  with  a  coarse  brush  to  remove  all  gloss  or 
shine  and  produce  a  dead  finish. 

An  ideal  wall  surface  is  such  as  that  produced  by 
^cartridge  paper.  A  close  examination  of  that  paper  will 
reveal  the  fact  that  its  peculiar  hue  is  produced  by  the 
mingling  of  light  reflected  from  minute  particles  of 
different  colors.  The  effect  is  that  of  a  granulated  sur- 
face, without  a  hint  of  shine  or  glitter,  having  a  soft 
rich  bloom  of  color.  Cartridge  paper,  however,  or  any 


PLATE  XVI.  — BY   THE   RIVERSIDE. 
(From  a  painting  by  Le  Rolle.) 


THE   SCHOOLROOM  91 

other  paper,  is  not  sufficiently  durable  for  use  upon 
schoolroom  walls.  Paper  is  justifiable  only  in  repairing 
or  rejuvenating  an  old  room  merely  for  temporary  use. 

WINDOW    SHADES 

Inside  blinds  have  many  elements  in  their  favor, 
though  they  often  shut  out  too  much  light.  They  are 
clean,  durable,  of  good  color,  or  may  be  easily  modified 
to  harmonize  with  the  room.  They  may  be  closed  at 
the  top  to  shut  out  a  high  sun  and  left  open  below,  or 
closed  below  and  opened  above  to  give  a  good  light 
upon  objects  used  in  drawing. 

Venetian  blinds,  so-called,  have  the  advantage  of 
being  adjustable  to  screen  out  direct  sunlight  while  ad- 
mitting a  large  amount  of  light,  but,  though  requiring 
less  room  for  operating  than  the  ordinary  blind,  they 
necessitate  coils  of  cord,  which  are  often  disorderly  and 
unsightly  in  arrangement. 

The  ordinary  shades  upon  rollers  are  comparatively 
inexpensive,  and  if  of  the  right  color  and  thickness,  are 
quite  satisfactory,  especially  if  hung  within  the  window- 
jamb,  and  in  pairs,  that  is,  one  at  the  top  to  draw 
downward,  and  one  below  to  draw  upward  as  occasion 
may  require.  These  are  the  most  easily  managed  and, 
all  things  considered,  the  most  satisfactory  if  the  win- 
'dow-sills  are  to  support  window  gardens.  The  material 
for  such  shades  should  be  tested  in  the  schoolroom  with 
and  without  direct  sunlight.  A  curtain  which  is  quiet 
in  color  and  in  harmony  with  the  decorative  scheme  of 
the  room  under  ordinary  light,  may  under  full  sunlight 
transmit  such  an  intensity  of  color  as  to  be  unpleasant 
if  not  fatiguing  or  even  injurious  to  the  eye. 


92         SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 
OTHER    PERMANENT    FURNISHINGS 

Theoretically,  the  furniture  of  a  schoolroom  should 
correspond  with  the  finish.  If  the  room  is  finished 
in  oak,  the  desks  and  chairs  should  be  of  oak.  If  the 
finish  is  ash,  the  furniture  may  be  of  birch  or  any 
light-colored  wood.  The  "  cherry  "  furniture,  sometimes 
offered  for  sale,  is  usually  too  highly  colored  to  look 
well  except  in  a  room  finished  in  highly  colored  wood 
and  having  walls  of  a  contrasting  color. 

Bookcases  fall  in  best  with  the  decorative  scheme 
of  the  room  when  built  in  place  against  the  wall  as 
a  part  of  the  finish,  but  the  wall  space  in  a  school- 
room is  so  valuable  for  other  purposes  that  a  revolving 
bookcase  may  be  a  necessity.  There  may  be  oppor- 
tunity for  a  book  shelf  somewhere,  perhaps  in  a  corner, 
and  any  good  architect  will  be  able  to  design  an  in- 
expensive one  which  will  be  an  attractive  feature  of  the 
room. 

Cabinets  for  reference  material  of  various  sorts  are 
necessary,  but  may  be  consigned  to  the  closet  if  room 
is  limited.  The  ideal  cabinet  for  photographs,  mounted 
prints,  and  other  pictures  is  that  commonly  known  as 
a  filing  cabinet  with  drop  suspension  drawers.  An 
illustrated  catalogue  of  "labor-saving  office  devices" 
will  suggest  several  space-economizing  combinations  for 
prints,  specimens,  and  books  well  worth  the  attention 
of  school  architects  and  builders. 

The  bulletin  should  be  a  prominent  feature.  It  may 
be  made  of  soft  pine  wood  and  covered  with  burlap  or 
denim  of  a  color  to  harmonize  with  the  room.  It  may 
be  placed  between  two  doors  or  in  a  corner  or  wher- 


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THE   SCHOOLROOM  93 

ever  seems  best.  Unless  it  fits  some  space  bounded 
by  moldings,  it  should  be  framed,  simply,  to  correspond 
with  the  woodwork  of  the  room,  and  fastened  securely 
flat  against  the  wall.  Upon  this  bulletin  shall  be  posted 
all  notices,  clippings,  sample  sheets  of  writing,  drawing, 
or  painting.  Rows  of  papers  tacked  to  the  upper  mold- 
ing of  the  blackboard,  or  hung  upon  wires  or  strings 
stretched  across  the  walls,  or  pinned  at  haphazard  upon 
the  door,  are  unsightly.  The  bulletin  is  the  place  for 
the  display  of  school  work. 


CHAPTER   VII 

SCHOOLROOM    DECORATION 

MANY  people  have  yet  to  learn  that  beauty  does  not 
depend  upon  complexity  and  prodigality,  and  that  it  has 
nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  fashions.  A  popular 
journal  published  not  long  ago  "The  Interior  of  One 
Hundred  Homes,"  the  editor  might  have  added  "with 
furnishings  enough  for  one  thousand  !  "  Almost  with- 
out exception  the  walls  were  mottled  with  pictures  and 
cards  and  the  floors  cluttered  with  things.  Savages 
and  half-civilized  people  delight  in  multiplicity ;  the 
more  tattooing,  the  more  earrings  and  nose  rings,  the 
greater  the  beauty  ;  South  Sea  paddle  blades  are  incised 
all  over  with  with  monotonous  ornament;  Indian  pago- 
das are  heaps  of  heterogeneous  forms.  Perhaps  one 
ought  not  to  say  that  American  parlors  are  barbaric ; 
they  are  at  least  composite,  they  contain  collections, 
they  are  museums,  —  or  would  be  if  properly  arranged 
and  catalogued,  —  in  many  cases  museums  of  moderate 
size  simply  because  the  purse  is  limited. 

Our  schoolrooms  are  in  danger  of  becoming  "  so  full 
of  a  number  of  things  "  that  there  will  be  no  room  for 
beauty.  Plate  XIX  shows  a  schoolroom  which  re- 
cently received  first  honors  in  a  prize  competition  organ- 
ized by  one  of  our  enterprising  monthlies.  It  contains 
pictures  galore,  pictures  of  all  kinds  and  sizes,  pictures 

94 


PLATE  XX.  — A  WELL  DECORATED  SCHOOLROOM. 


SCHOOLROOM   DECORATION  95 

in  frames  and  on  easels,  pictures  singly  and  in  borders, 
it  contains  casts  and  flowers,  vases  and  dried  grasses, 
flags  and  bric-a-brac.  The  room  is  burdened  with  a 
melange  of  decorative  material,  it  is  a  new  curiosity 
shop !  A  drawing  teacher,  more  nice  than  wise,  used 
to  say  "  bric-a-^r^."  "She  means  bric-a-^bris,"  re- 
marked an  artist  who  happened  to  hear  ;  "  bric-a-debris 
fills  a  long-felt  want  in  one's  vocabulary."  The  word 
comes  unbidden  to  the  lips  when  such  an  interior  as  this 
presents  itself  for  judgment.  Contrast  with  it  the  inte- 
rior from  a  primary  school  in  Springfield,  Mass.  (Plate 
XX.)  Here  are  a  few  of  the  best  photographs  obtaina- 
ble, photographs  of  recognized  masterpieces.  They  are 
large,  appropriately  framed,  and  hung  with  reference  to 
the  wall  spaces.  There  is  no  crowding,  no  confusion, 
no  clutter  anywhere  ;  the  blackboards  are  utilized  with 
some  thought  of  orderly  spacing,  the  vases  of  flowers 
are  tastefully  arranged,  and  the  effect  of  the  room 
as  a  whole  is  clean,  temperate,  restful,  wholesome. 
One  cannot  imagine  haphazard,  slovenly  results  com- 
ing from  children  accustomed  to  such  an  atmosphere  of 
order  and  peace  and  beauty. 

Such  schoolrooms  are  none  too  good  for  the  most  out- 
of-the-way  corner  in  these  United  States.  To  produce 
them  requires  something  besides  a  wish  and  a  bag  of 
gold  ;  it  requires  good  taste  and  forethought.  Given 
the  finished  room,  the  problem  is  what  kind  of  decora- 
tive material  shall  be  used  and  how  much. 

It  is  well  to  plan  the  decorations  ideally,  at  first, 
without  regard  to  expense.  With  unlimited  means, 
what  ought  to  be  done  to  perfect  the  room  ?  The  light 
comes  from  the  left  side  only  :  then  upon  the  wall  in 


96         SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

front  of  the  pupils  and  upon  the  rear  wall  we  may  have 
casts,  and  upon  either  of  these  walls,  or  upon  the  right 
side  opposite  the  windows,  we  may  hang  pictures.  We 
will  put  our  very  best  things  in  front,  where  they  will 
be  seen  by  the  pupils  whenever  their  eyes  are  raised 
from  the  books.  But  we  must  consider  the  wall  spaces. 
Here  is  a  wide  space  —  that  means  one  large  thing,  or 
two  or  three  small  ones.  Which  is  better?  Without 
doubt  the  one  large  picture  or  cast.  Here  is  a  narrow 
space  between  the  door-frame  and  the  corner  —  that  is 
the  place  for  a  narrow  picture  or  possibly  a  cast.  Casts 
sometimes  fit  excellently  well  in  very  narrow  spaces. 
Shall  we  place  anything  high  over  the  door  ?  Probably 
not;  no  artist  likes  to  see  his  pictures  "skyed."  On 
that  bookcase  is  a  good  place  for  a  pretty  vase  or  two. 
The  room  ought  to  have,  let  us  suppose,  five  large  pic- 
tures (one  very  wide),  one  large  cast,  and  two  smaller 
ones,  and  three  vases  —  two  for  ornament  only  and  one 
for  holding  flowers  upon  the  teacher's  desk. 

What  sort  of  pictures  and  casts  and  vases?  Ah, 
there's  the  rub!  Shall  we  just  pkase  the  children  in 
the  selection  ?  Shall  we  decide  to  have  a  "  Greek 
room"  or  a  "Roman  room"  or  a  "Venetian  room,"  or 
shall  we  insist  on  using  the  flag  in  interior  decoration 
and  have  an  "American  room  "  ? 

Firstly,  the  flag  belongs  on  a  flag  staff  outside  the 
school  building.  The  American  flag,  the  most  beau- 
tiful banner  in  the  world  though  it  be,  has  no  place 
as  a  permanent  wall  decoration.  It  will  spoil  the  deco- 
rative scheme  of  any  schoolroom.  Moreover,  if  we  use 
the  flag  constantly,  what  shall  we  have  in  reserve  for 
special  occasions  ?  And  if  it  is  always  before  us,  how 


SCHOOLROOM   DECORATION  97 

shall  we  bring  it  forth  with  rejoicing  and  with  special 
honors  upon  the  red-letter  days  of  the  Nation's  life  ? 
Then,  too,  how  incongruous  to  find  Venus  draped  with 
the  stars  and  stripes,  or  the  flag  above  the  Madonna ! 
It  is  well  for  our  children  to  know  that  but  one  flag 
in  the  world  ever  floats  above  Old  Glory ;  it  is  well  for 
them  to  remember  that  on  Sunday  mornings  the  flag  of 
America  takes  second  place  and  floats  upon  the  still  air 
beneath  the  flag  of  the  Cross  at  the  masthead  of  our 
battle  ships,  but  it  is  not  well  for  them  to  see  in  their 
schoolrooms  the  Mystery  of  the  Ages  draped  with  the 
flag  of  the  United  States. 

Secondly,  we  will  not  have  "  classified  "  rooms  for  the 
little  children.  Classification  is  nothing  to  them  ;  Greek 
and  Roman  and  Renaissance  are  meaningless  words. 
Children  dwell  in  the  realm  of  "  unreflective  immedi- 
acy"; they  enjoy  a  picture  for  its  own  sake,  not  be- 
cause it  is  Spanish  and  forms  a  part  of  a  system. 
They  like  a  Bambino  because  it  is  "a  cunning  little 
baby  in  a  funny  dress,"  not  because  of  its  plastic  quali- 
ties, or  because  the  great  Lucca  della  Robbia  made  it. 
In  the  upper  grades  we  may  begin  some  sort  of  classi- 
fication if  we  wish,  and  in  the  high  school  we  will  in- 
sist upon  it.  There  the  English  literature  room  shall 
be  appropriately  decorated,  the  Greek  room  shall  be 
Greek,  and  the  Latin  room  Roman,  and  the  great 
assembly  hall  shall  be  American.  Some  day  those  halls 
will  be  frescoed  with  the  memorable  scenes  in  our 
national  history,  drawn  and  painted  by  the  boys  and 
girls  now  being  trained  to  patriotism  as  well  as  to 
power  in  our  public  schools. 

Thirdly,  we  will  hold  to  our  ideal  plan,  though  we 
H 


98          SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

have  not  the  means  to  realize  it  all  at  once.  We  will 
buy  the  picture  we  want  and  hang  it  where  it  ought  to 
hang ;  and  when  we  can  buy  another,  we  will  buy  that 
and  put  it  in  its  right  place,  and  so  on  until  the  room  is 
completed. 

"  Oh,  but  we  want  to  change  the  pictures  about," 
somebody  says ;  "  it  is  so  monotonous  to  have  always 
the  same  thing  in  the  same  place  !  "  But  the  children 
change  from  year  to  year,  the  room  need  not.  If  the 
room  is  once .  really  beautiful,  it  ought  not  to  be 
changed  :  "A  thing  of  beauty  is  a  joy  forever  f"  Peo- 
ple change  their  parlor  furnishings  simply  because  the 
decorative  effect  is  never  quite  right.  Nobody  wants 
to  change  the  interior  of  the  Spanish  Chapel  or  of 
Cologne  Cathedral. 

Knowing,  then,  in  a  general  way  what  a  given  room 
requires,  the  attention  may  be  given  to  individual  ob- 
jects. Each  picture,  cast  and  object  appears  at  its  best 
under  certain  conditions ;  each  may  become  insignifi- 
cant under  adverse  conditions,  therefore  each  may  well 
be  considered  somewhat  in  detail. 


PICTURES 

Walls  are  decorated  for  the  sole  purpose  of  enhancing 
their  beauty.  It  would  seem  unnecessary  to  add  that 
whatever  is  placed  upon  them  should  be  beautiful. 

The  subject  of  a  picture  may  be  unimpeachable,  but 
unless  the  picture  is  in  itself  a  thing  of  beauty,  it  has  no 
claim  to  a  permanent  place  upon  the  schoolroom  wall. 
Shall  we  eliminate  historical  pictures  ?  Yes,  unless 
they  are  beautiful,  like  Turner's  "  Old  Teme"raire," 


SCHOOLROOM   DECORATION  99 

And  how  about  portraits  of  authors  and  statesmen  ? 
Those  too  must  go,  unless  they  are,  like  Stuart's  "  Wash- 
ington," masterpieces  of  art.  All  material  useful  to 
illustrate  history,  literature,  nature  study,  and  geog- 
raphy, or  any  other  subject,  shall  be  kept  in  portfolios 
or  cabinets  and  used  when  required.  We  may  have 
maps,  charts,  and  decorations  for  special  occasions  hung 
upon  the  walls  for  a  day  or  two.  We  will  have  per- 
manently upon  the  walls  only  such  things  as  are  perfectly 
adapted  to  the  decorative  scheme  of  the  schoolroom. 

Kinds  of  Pictures.  —  Original  masterpieces  in  color 
are  too  expensive  for  schoolroom  walls.  Originals  which 
are  less  than  masterpieces  are  not  desirable.  In  Paris, 
a  few  schools  possess  original  drawings  or  sketches  by 
modern  French  masters.  Possibly  drawings  by  our 
American  artists  might  be  obtained  for  our  schools  if 
artists  and  teachers  could  work  together  sympatheti- 
cally. But  for  the  present  we  must  depend  chiefly  upon 
reproductions. 

Lithographs  in  black  and  white  are  usually  undesirable 
because  untruthful  and  inartistic.  Chromolithographs 
are  to  be  avoided,  for  the  same  reason.  There  are  a 
few  notable  exceptions,  such  as  the  "  Caravels  of  Colum- 
bus "  by  Prang,  and  occasional  "  masterpieces  "  by  other 
high  grade  lithographers  ;  but  as  a  rule  the  chromo  is  not 
for  permanent  display  on  the  schoolroom  wall.  Fine 
engravings  and  etchings  of  sufficient  size  are  generally 
too  expensive  for  schools  to  secure  except  through  the 
generosity  of  some  wealthy  patron.  Photogravures  of 
such  quality  as  Elson's  are  excellent,  but  almost  all  the 
"  process  "  reproductions  are  too  cheap  ;  they  look  cheap 
and  lack  the  artistic  qualities  of  a  good  photograph. 


100       SCHOOL  SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

Solar  prints  are  satisfactory  only  when  details  are  unim- 
portant, as  in  the  "  Grand  Hall  of  Karnak,"  or  the 
"  Mount  Vernon,"  or  the  "  Moses  "  (see  frontispiece). 
But  a  fine  photograph  retains  to  an  astonishing  degree 
the  qualities  of  the  original,  indeed,  in  some  places  the 
photograph  is  the  more  pleasing.  Del  Sarto's  "  Saint 
John,"  "Beatrice  Cenci,"  and  Richter's  "Queen  Louise" 
are  examples  of  pictures  which  gain  by  photographic  re- 
production —  the  print  preserves  their  fine  values  with- 
out calling  attention  to  their  unfortunate  color.  On  the 
other  hand,  where  the  coloring  is  of  prime  importance, 
of  course  photographic  reproduction  is  inadequate.  One 
who  knows  Paul  Veronese  and  Titian  and  Turner  only 
through  black  and  white  prints  can  have  but  the  very 
faintest  conception  of  their  power.  This  emphasis  of 
the  photograph  in  wall  decoration  tends  to  make  the 
room  colorless  ;  but  the  lack  of  color  upon  the  walls 
may  be  counterbalanced  by  color  in  bric-a-brac  and  in 
flowers.  Besides,  there  are  a  few  colored  reproductions, 
in  addition  to  the  two  or  three  good  lithographs,  not  too 
expensive  nor  too  crude  for  general  use,  namely,  the 
higher  grades  of  Japanese  prints  and  colored  photo- 
graphs. Colored  photographs  are  often  too  highly 
colored,  but  occasionally  one  will  be  found  quite  de- 
lightful in  tone  and  very  effective  when  properly 
framed;  such,  for  example,  as  the  large  plate  of  the 
"  Entrance  to  the  Ducal  Palace,"  imported  from  Italy, 
and  the  "  Fusiyama  "  and  the  "  Grand  Avenue  of  Trees," 
imported  from  Japan. 

Subjects.  —  Pictures  should  be  selected  with  reference 
to  the  grade  of  the  room  in  which  they  are  to  be  placed. 
Little  children  care  nothing  for  Roman  ruins  and  Greek 


SCHOOLROOM   DECORATION  ioi 

fragments  ;  the  pictures  they  love  are  those  which  tell 
the  story  of  happy  animal  and  child  life,  of  vigorous 
action,  and  of  mother  love.  Classic  landscapes  and 
temples  and  statues  of  the  gods  belong  in  the  ninth 
grade,  if  anywhere  below  the  high  school. 

The  subjects  selected  in  any  grade  should  be  such  as 
one  may  contemplate  with  pleasure.  Life  is  painful 
enough  at  first  hand  without  reflecting  its  sorrows  and 
sufferings  from  schoolroom  walls.  Thorwaldsen's  "  Lion 
of  Lucerne"  (Plate  XVII,  page  92)  is  admirable  when 
seen  by  the  traveler  who  visits  the  "  Glacier  Garden  " 
once  or  twice  in  a  lifetime ;  but  the  dying  agonies  of 
even  the  king  of  beasts  are  not  for  children  to  gaze 
upon  continually,  nor  are  such  subjects  as  the  "Dying 
Gaul"  or  a  "Saint  Sebastian"  or  an  "Ecce  Homo." 
We  do  not  wish  our  children  to  live  with  one  of  Barye's 
masterpieces  of  animal  fury  and  agony,  or  with  a  bloody 
horror  by  Verestchagin,  or  with  a  "  Last  Judgment," 
even  Michael  Angelo's.  We  want  them  to  live  just  as 
long  as  possible  with  the  sunshine  and  the  flowers,  with 
the  birds  and  the  cherubs,  with  the  saints  and  the 
Madonnas. 

The  pictures  selected  should  "carry,"  that  is,  they 
should  be  of  such  a  character  as  to  be  effective  and 
beautiful  when  seen  at  some  distance.  The  photograph 
of  the  ceiling  of  the  Sistine  Chapel  (which  by  the  way 
should  never  be  hung  upon  a  wall),  although  fascinating 
when  studied  at  short  range,  becomes,  when  seen  from  a 
distance,  a  patchwork  of  confused  grays.  But  a  good 
photograph  of  the  wondrous  equestrian  statue  of  Bar- 
tolpmmeo  Colleoni  retains  its  majesty  and  challenges  the 
admiration  of  the  observer  at  almost  any  distance. 


102       SCHOOL  SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

One  should  select,  therefore,  only  artistic  pictures,  of 
appropriate  subject  and  effective  composition. 

The  following  is  a  suggestive  list  of  pictures,  classified 
according  to  grade  : 1  — 

KINDERGARTEN  AND  PRIMARY  GRADES 

Madonna  of  the  Chair          .         .         .  Raphael. 

Holy  Night Correggio. 

Rest  in  Flight Knaus. 

Children  of  the  Shell    ....  Murillo. 

Mother  and  Child         .         .        .         .  Brush. 

Baby  Stuart Van  Dyck. 

Age  of  Innocence         ....  Reynolds. 

Feeding  her  Birds         ....  Millet. 

By  the  Riverside          ....  Lerolle. 

Little  Rose Whistler. 

Shepherdess  Knitting  ....  Millet. 

Caritas Thayer. 

Member  of  the  Humane  Society  .        .  Landseer. 

The  Connoisseurs         ....  Landseer. 

The  Blacksmith Frere. 

Escaped  Cow Dupre". 

Milan  Cathedral. 
Leaning  Tower,  Pisa. 

INTERMEDIATE  GRADES 

Sistine  Madonna,  Detail       .         .         .  Raphael. 

Madonna  and  Child      ....  Dagnan-Bouveret. 

Virgin,  Infant  Jesus,  and  St.  John       .  Bourguereau. 

Children  of  Charles  I    ....  Van  Dyck. 

Penelope  Boothby        ....  Reynolds. 

Shepherdess Lerolle. 

Christmas  Chimes         ....  Blashfield. 

Brother  and  Sister        .         .        .         .  Thayer. 

The  Gleaners Millet. 

1  For  more  extended  list  of  selected  works  see  an  appendix. 


THE   GLEANERS 

From  painting  by  Millet.     1818-1875 


Suitable  for  middle  grade  room. 

Subject  suggestive  ;  treatment  ef- 
fective; beautiful  in  composition  of 
line. 


,    AND   DECORATION 

herefore,  only  artistic  pictures,  of 
:ective  composition, 
stive  list  of  pictures,  classified 


AND  PRIMARY  GRADES 

Raphael. 

.....        Correggio. 
.....        Knaus. 

'•  •  ''.  .         .        .        Murillo. 

Brush. 

.        .        Van  Dyck. 
Reynolds. 

85I3WA3JO   aHTMiiiet. 

i  -.-rolle- 
.ialliM  yd  jgnhniBq  moiU 

. 

•'AS  .  . 

•Landsecr. 

Thf  ...         L,iniiseer. 

The  ;  ;    .....         Frere. 

i^ed  Cow        .....        Dupr& 
Milan  Catl 
Leaning  Tower,  Pisa, 

INTERMEDIATE  GRADES 

Sistine  Madonna,  Detail       ... 
Madonna  and  Child     ....        Digna; 
•  i.  Infant  Jesus,  and  .         !>• 

V, 
Ptti'.         .rnooi  abuig.gJbbim  loi 


In  rtoiJfeoqrnoo  ni 

:or        .        .        .        .        T  liayer. 


.:ttc«  e  extcudetJ  !i«t  of  selected  works  see  an  appendix. 


SCHOOLROOM   DECORATION 


103 


At  the  Watering  Trough      .         .         .  Dagnan-Bouveret. 

Automedon Regnault. 

Horse  Fair Bonheur. 

Aurora •    Guido  Reni. 

Kabyl Shreyer. 

Pilgrims  going  to  Church     .        .        .  Boughton. 

Paysage Corot. 

St.  Mark's. 
Notre  Dame. 

GRAMMAR  GRADES 

Virgin,  Infant  Jesus,  and  St.  John       .  Botticelli. 

Madonna  of  the  Shop  ....  Dagnan-Bouveret. 

Joan  of  Arc Bastien  Lepage. 

Queen  Louise Richter. 

Sir  Galahad Watts. 

The  Haymaker Adan. 

The  Sower Millet. 

The  Watercarrier         ....  Millet. 

Dance  of  the  Nymphs  ....  Corot. 

Golden  Stair Burne-Jones. 

Reading  Homer  .        .        .  .  Alma-Tadema. 

Portrait  of  Rubens        ....  Rubens. 

Washington Stuart. 

Capitol  at  Washington. 
Doges'  Palace. 
Amiens  Cathredral. 
Westminster  Abbey. 

HIGH  SCHOOL  GRADES 

Sistine  Madonna          ....  Raphael. 

Virgin  Enthroned        ....  Thayer. 

Angels Forli. 

St.  Catherine Raphael. 

St.  Michel  and  Satan   ....  Guido  Reni. 

St.  Michel  and  Satan   ....  Raphael. 

Frieze  of  the  Prophets         .        .        .  Sargent. 

Sibyls Michael  Angelo. 


104      SCHOOL  SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

Circe Burne-Jones. 

Portrait  of  his  Mother          .        .         .  Whistler. 

Elizabeth  Bas Rembrandt. 

Diana's  Bath         .         .         .         .        .  Corot. 

Approach  to  Venice     ....  Turner. 

Ulysses  deriding  Polyphemus       .         .  Turner. 

Vintage  Festival Alma-Tadema. 

Appian  Way Boulanger. 

Castle  of  St.  Angelo. 

Acropolis,  Pyramid  and  Sphinx. 

Arch  of  Titus,  Cologne  Cathedral. 

Moses Michael  Angelo. 

Framing.  —  Just  now  fashion  would  have  us  believe 
that  photographs,  like  oil  paintings,  should  be  framed 
without  mats.  But  why  ?  There  is  no  more  reason  for 
discarding  mats  than  for  using  them.  The  fact  is  that 
some  pictures  require  a  mat  and  some  do  not.  Hoff- 
mann's "Christ  in  the  Temple"  looks  pinched  and 
crowded  by  the  frame  without  a  mat,  so  also  does  Alma- 
Tadema's  "Reading  Homer"  (Plate  XVIII,  page  93), 
but  such  a  picture  as  Rembrandt's  "  Portrait  of  Him- 
self "  or  Murillo's  "  Children  of  the  Shell "  need  no  mat, 
they  have  room  enough  between  figure  and  frame. 

The  mat  may  either  enhance  or  detract  from  the 
effectiveness  of  a  picture.  A  dark  picture  with  a  light 
mat  framed  in  dark  wood  is  thrown  into  the  shade  by 
the  mat.  The  mat  gets  the  first  word  with  every  ob- 
server. A  mat  or  a  frame  should  surround  the  picture 
with  "a  space  of  silence,"  to  use  Ruskin's  phrase. 
When  the  mat  attracts  attention  first,  when  the  frame 
leads  people  to  exclaim  "  What  an  elegant  frame !  " 
that  which  should  be  first  has  become  last  and  the  last 
first. 


SCHOOLROOM   DECORATION  105 

A  gloomy  picture  may  be  made  less  gloomy  by  fram- 
ing with  a  mat  which  by  contrast  heightens  the  effect 
of  the  little  light  in  the  picture,  or  a  very  light  picture 
may  be  made  richer  in  tone  by  contrast  with  a  pale  mat ; 
but  as  a  rule  the  mat  should  be  of  a  color  analogous  to 
the  general  hue  of  the  picture  and  of  a  tone  darker  than 
the  lights  of  the  picture  and  lighter  than  the  darks  ;  for 
if  the  mat  be  too  light  the  high  lights  of  the  picture 
seem  to  lose  their  brilliancy,  and  if  too  dark  the  deep 
shades  by  contrast  appear  to  have  lost  their  depth. 
Upon  a  mat  of  middle  tone  both  the  strong  lights  and 
the  darks  hold  their  own  in  the  scale  of  values.  Some- 
times a  single  line,  of  the  value  of  the  darks  of  the 
picture,  drawn  upon  the  mat  from  a  quarter  to  a  half 
inch  from  the  picture,  so  as  to  form  a  circumscribing 
rectangle,  heightens  the  effect  by  softening  the  contrast 
between  picture  and  mat. 

The  width  of  the  mat  depends  upon  the  character  of 
the  picture.  The  mat  isolates  the  picture  by  "  stopping 
out "  its  immediate  environment.  When  viewing  a 
picture  from  a  distance,  one  is  conscious  of  a  wide  area 
of  surrounding  objects;  a  wide  "space  of  silence,"  a 
wide  mat,  is  required  in  such  cases  to  focus  the  atten- 
tion upon  the  picture.  But  a  picture  crowded  with  de- 
tail, a  picture  to  be  explored,  to  be  studied  at  short 
range,  requires  less  neutral  ground  around  it.  A 
narrower  mat  will  be  of  sufficient  width. 

The  picture  should  be  placed  slightly  above  the  center 
of  the  mat,  that  the  margin  above  may  be  less  than  the 
margin  below.  One  may  reason  as  to  why  this  should 
be  without  arriving  at  a  satisfactory  conclusion.  We 
know  that  to  satisfy  the  eye  the  upper  part  of  an  S  and 


106       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND    DECORATION 

of  a  B  must  be  slightly  smaller  than  the  lower  part,  and 
that  the  tongue  of  the  E  and  the  bar  of  the  H  must  be 
above  the  center;  and  the  fact  is  that  a  picture  mounted 
with  equal  margins  above  and  below  appears  to  have 
dropped  or  sagged  for  some  reason,  and  to  be  in  danger 
of  falling  out  of  the  frame. 

The  frame  proper  is  merely  a  continuation  of  the  mat, 
and  should,  therefore,  be  unobtrusive.  Its  color  should 
be  analogous  to  that  of  the  mat,  but  may  be  much 
darker  in  tone.  Ordinarily  all  glittering  surfaces  and 
intricate  or  obtrusive  ornament  should  be  avoided. 
Flat  moldings,  which  cast  little  or  no  shadow  upon  the 
picture,  finished  to  show  the  natural  grain  of  the  wood, 
toned  to  the  right  hue  and  value  to  harmonize  with  the 
picture,  and  with  a  single  line  of  delicate  beading  to 
give  a  ripple  of  light  and  dark  for  accent  and  to  show 
that  the  picture  is  worthy  of  something  more  than  a 
window  sash  for  protection  — such  elements  combine  to 
produce  a  frame  at  once  appropriate  and  durable,  in 
good  taste  from  either  the  aesthetic  or  utilitarian  point  of 
view.  Plate  XXI  shows  a  half-tone  of  a  well-framed  pic- 
ture. Notice  the  relative  values  of  the  picture  proper, 
the  mat,  and  the  frame,  and  the  relative  widths  of  mold- 
ing and  mat.  The  molding  may  be  wider  than  the  mat 
or  narrower,  usually  the  latter,  for  equal  widths  of  dis- 
similar surfaces  are  not  pleasing.  When  no  mat  is  used, 
the  frame  should  be  governed  by  the  same  considera- 
tions. Its  functions  are  similar  to  those  of  the  mat. 
A  pleasing  effect  is  sometimes  obtained  by  mounting 
and  framing  in  delicate  hues  which  harmonize  by  con- 
trast with  the  hues  of  the  picture,  but  the  practice  is 
not  to  be  strongly  recommended. 


Copyright,  l&(fl,  by  Curtis  &*  Cameron. 


PLATE  XXI.— A  WELL  FRAMED   PICTURE,  CARITAS. 
(From  the  painting  by  Abbott  Thayer.) 


SCHOOLROOM   DECORATION  107 

Hanging. — Most  pictures  are  at  their  best  under  a 
side  or  top  light,  but  in  a  schoolroom  they  must  often 
be  hung  directly  opposite  the  light,  or,  worse,  between 
two  windows.  A  picture  full  of  detail,  or  a  picture 
with  subtle  gradations  and  delicate  tones  of  light  and 
shade,  requires  more  light  than  one  having  large  simple 
masses  and  strong  contrasts  ;  hence,  as  a  rule,  such 
pictures  as  Corot's  "  Rainbow  "  should  be  placed  in  a 
well-lighted  place,  and  "The  Sower"  of  Millet,  and 
other  vigorous  compositions,  reserved  for  less  favored 
spaces.  Sometimes,  however,  a  picture  full  of  light 
will  illume  a  dark  corner  so  happily  that  one  is  inclined 
to  doubt  the  wisdom  of  attempting  to  formulate  rules. 
A  picture  with  a  marked  effect  of  light  from  one  side 
is  often  most  effective  when  hung  so  that  the  actual 
illumination  corresponds  with  the  apparent  illumina- 
tion ;  that  is,  if  the  light  in  the  picture  is  represented 
as  falling  from  the  left  of  the  observer,  the  picture 
may  well  be  hung  upon  a  wall  lighted  from  the  left 
side. 

Whether  pictures  should  be  suspended  from  a  single 
hook  or  from  two  hooks  depends  partly  upon  the  evi- 
dent weight  of  the  picture,  and  partly  upon  one's  taste 
in  such  matters.  If  it  be  assumed  that  the  picture 
should  rightly  be  flat  against  the  wall,  and  supported 
without  visible  means,  then  the  nearer  those  conditions 
can  be  approximated  the  better.  It  is  safe  to  say  that 
the  picture  should  be  hung  in  the  simplest  and  most 
unobtrusive  manner  possible,  and  that  it  should  not 
rest  for  support  upon  a  shelf  or  molding  beneath, 
except  in  extreme  cases,  where  lack  of  space,  or  ex- 
traordinary weight,  make  proper  spacing  impossible. 


108       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 


CASTS 

Casts  are  reproductions  of  sculpture :  ( I )  "  in  the  round" 
that  is,  of  the  entire  figure,  human  or  animal,  or  some 
detail  of  it,  as  a  bust ;  and  (2)  in  relief,  of  which  there  are 
three  varieties, — very  low  relief,  called  bas-relief,  very 
high  relief,  called  alto  relief,  and  medium  or  mezzo  relief. 
The  tendency  in  America  is  to  discard  this  classification 
and  these  terms,  and  to  make  but  two  classes,  designat- 
ing them  in  plain  English  as  low  relief  and  high  relief. 
The  intaglio  is  a  low  relief  reversed,  that  is,  the  depres- 
sions of  the  one  answer  to  the  elevations  of  surface  in 
the  other.  Intaglios  are  seldom  of  large  size,  and  there- 
fore not  to  be  considered  here. 

Qualities.  —  Casts  are  commonly  made  from  "piece 
molds"  —  molds  made  in  sections;  hence  upon  a  good 
fresh  cast  delicate  lines  are  visible  which  mark  the 
subdivisions  of  the  mold.  These  are  sometimes  care- 
fully removed  before  the  cast  is  considered  perfect.  In 
cheap  casts  they  are  always  removed.  If  the  sec- 
tions of  the  mold  are  not  perfectly  adjusted  before  be- 
ing filled  with  plaster,  these  lines  reveal  the  fact ;  hence 
in  such  cases  they  are  immediately  removed  because  of 
their  tell-tale  character,  and  the  cast  scoured  down  to  a 
smooth  surface.  A  moment's  reflection  will  convince 
one  that  the  subtle  qualities  of  the  original,  the  refined 
lines  and  delicate  modeling,  may  be  entirely  lost  during 
such  a  process  of  sandpapering.  It  is  therefore  the 
habit  of  connoisseurs  to  select  the  cast  before  the  mold 
lines  are  removed.  The  safe  course  for  a  non-profes- 
sional who  wishes  casts  of  good  quality  is  to  secure  them 
through  reputable  dealers  only. 


PLATE  XXII.  —MADONNA  AND  CHILD.  (DONATELLO.)  A 
LOW  RELIEF  UNDER  A  FULL  FRONT  LIGHT.  DETAIL 
LOST,  CAST  FLAT  AND  INEFFECTIVE. 


PLATE  XXIII.— THE  SAME  RELIEF  UNDER  A  SIDE  LIGHT. 
DETAIL  MORE  EVIDENT,  BUT  DARKS  ACCENT  TOO 
SHARPLY  UNIMPORTANT  PARTS. 


SCHOOLROOM    DECORATION  109 

Fresh  casts  are  bright  white  in  color,  a  most  trying 
tone  for  the  eye,  and  awkward  to  manage  in  most  deco- 
rative schemes.  They  should  be  toned  to  "ivory,"  or 
cream  white,  which  approximates  the  mellow  tone  of 
old  marble,  but  should  not  be  stained  yellow,  as  cheap 
casts  often  are.  A  good  cast,  properly  toned  and  ap- 
propriately placed,  is  so  effective  a  piece  of  decoration 
that  in  a  room  with  framed  pictures  it  may  easily  become 
the  chief  ornamental  feature.  Nothing  is  more  charm- 
ing in  a  kindergarten  or  primary  room  than  a  Bambino 
upon  the  wall  above  the  teacher's  desk,  with  his  hands 
spread  out  invitingly  to  the  children. 

Casts  in  the  Round.  — The  beauty  of  a  cast  depends 
so  largely  upon  position  and  illumination  that  the  beauty 
of  even  the  best  cast  may  be  practically  destroyed  by 
carelessness  in  these  matters. 

When  "  Rogers'  groups "  were  in  vogue  they  were 
usually  placed  upon  a  table  or  pedestal  in  a  bay  window, 
the  worst  imaginable  place  for  a  cast,  so  far  as  display- 
ing its  beauty  is  concerned,  but  the  best  possible  place 
for  it  to  advertise  the  fact  of  its  possession  and  display 
one's  vanity  to  the  public.  The  best  place  for  a  cast  in 
the  round  is  probably  a  niche  in  the  wall,  where  the  cast 
may  be  seen  at  the  most  effective  angle,  under  the  best 
light,  and  against  a  softly  modulated  background.  The 
next  best  is  against  a  well-toned  wall,  where  the  light 
falls  from  one  side  only,  or  near  a  corner  where  the 
light  reflected  from  a  wall  relieves  the  intensity  of  shade 
upon  the  dark  side  of  the  cast.  A  cast  should  never  be 
placed  against  a  blackboard.  If  the  cast  is  a  statuette 
or  a  bust,  it  may  stand  upon  a  table,  a  bookcase,  or  upon 
a  bracket  of  unobtrusive  design  ;  but  if  of  larger  size, 


1 10       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND    DECORATION 


three  feet  high  or  more,  it  should  be  placed  upon  a 
pedestal  of  good  proportions,  refined  line,  and  quiet  color. 
A  plaster  pedestal  with  ornaments,  plus  a  placard  giving 
data,  monopolize  too  much  attention.  A  good  pedestal 
may  be  made  by  any  skilled  carpenter  from  such  a 
drawing  as  is  shown  in  Fig.  15. 
The  height  of  the  pedestal,  and 
therefore  its  proportions  through- 
out, must  be  determined  by  the  size 
of  the  cast  and  the  position  it  should 
occupy.  The  "Ludovisi  Mars"  or 
the  "  Apollo  Belvidere,"  for  exam- 
ple, should  be  seen  at  about  the  level 
of  the  eye,  the  winged  "  Victory  of 
Samothrace  "  is  best  slightly  above, 
and  the  "Victory  of  Painios  "  very 
much  above  the  level  of  the  eye. 
The  unobtrusive  label,  a  gray  card 
with  lettering  in  black,  may  be  added 
at  a,  or  perhaps  flat  upon  the  top  of 
the  pedestal,  where  it  attracts  no  at- 
tention whatever,  but  is  always  at 
hand  to  serve  those  who  wish  to  be 
instructed. 

/;/  Relief.  —  Under  certain  condi- 
tions a  cast  in  the  round  or  a  very  high  relief  may  be 
hung  opposite  the  light  in  a  schoolroom,  but  a  low  re- 
lief should  never  be  so  hung.  Plates  XXII,  XXIII,  and 
XXIV  show  the  same  relief  under  three  different  illu- 
minations :  first,  full  front  light ;  second,  a  side  light  at 
random ;  third,  a  selected  side  light.  There  can  be  no 
question  as  to  which  is  preferable. 


FIG.  15.  —  PEDESTAL. 


PLATE  XXIV.— THE  SAME  RELIEF  UNDER  A  SELECTED  SIDE 
LIGHT.  DETAIL  CLEAR,  LIGHT  MASSED  UPON  THE 
IMPORTANT  OBJECTS. 


PLATE    XXV.  — CASTS:    LION,    BY    BARYE.     INFANT    ST.    JOHN, 
BY   DONATELLO.     BAMBINO,   BY   BELLA    ROBBIA. 


SCHOOLROOM   DECORATION 


III 


A  relief  of  small  size  may  be  stood  upon  a  bookcase 
and  tilted  against  the  wall  like  an  ornamental  tile  if  the 
conditions  of  light  and  height  allow  it,  but  a  larger  cast 
should  be  hung,  not  by  cords  like  a  picture,  but  flat 
against  the  wall  by  means  of  hooks  at  the  back.  A 
cast  has  the  appearance  of  weight,  and,  if  hung  like  a 
picture,  gives  the  impression  of  being  about  to  pitch  for- 


FIG.  16.  —  FRAME  FOR  CAST. 

ward  into  the  room.     Very  heavy  casts  require  the  addi- 
tional support  of  a  projecting  molding  or  bracket. 

A  cast  of  decorative  outline,  like  a  Bambino,  looks  well 
upon  the  wall  without  accessories  of  any  sort  (see  Plate 
XXV),  but  certain  other  casts  of  more  or  less  irregular 
outline  seem  to  require  something  to  relieve  the  appar- 
ently unfinished,  unrelated  aspect  which  they  present 
from  some  points  of  view.  Architects  have  used  casts 
with  most  charming  effect  above  a  fireplace  or  mantle, 
by  imbedding  them  in  the  wall  so  deeply  that  the  sur- 


112       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

rounding  surface,  plain  or  molded,  forms  a  frame.  It  is 
usually  impracticable  to  use  casts  that  way  in  the  school- 
room, although  there  is  no  good  reason  why  they  should 
not  be  set  into  the  walls  when  the  building  is  in  process  ; 
but  it  is  possible  to  hang  a  cast  within  a  frame  in  such 
a  manner  that  this  impression  of  unrelatedness  may  be 
greatly  reduced  (Fig.  16).  The  frame  should  be  perfectly 
plain,  made  of  some  wood  to  harmonize  with  the  finish, 
or  painted  the  proper  color  to  mediate  between  the  wall 
and  the  cast,  or  it  may  be  made  of  rough  plank,  as  indi- 
cated in  the  sketch,  and  covered  with  burlap  of  appropri- 
ate color,  perhaps  with  the  ordinary  burlap.  Some  casts, 
however,  would  better  not  be  framed  singly.  The  Frieze 
of  the  Parthenon,  for  example,  was  originally  intended 
to  be  lighted  from  below  and  seen  from  below,  the  sep- 
arate sections  forming  a  continuous  band  of  enriched 
surface  high  above  the  eye.  A  single  fragment  of  this 
noble  frieze  is  never  quite  satisfactory  ;  several  sections 
side  by  side  are  needed  to  give  the  spirit  of  the  original, 
and  these  should  be  placed  as  high  as  possible  above  the 
eye.  A  portion  of  the  frieze  is  used  effectually  in  the 
Medford  High  School  Hall,  Plate  XXVI.  On  the  other 
hand,  each  Metope  of  the  Parthenon  has  a  unity  of  its 
own,  and  was  originally  framed  in  marble,  so  to  speak, 
and  hence  is  perfectly  adapted  to  the  requirements  of 
schoolroom  wall  decoration. 

Subjects.  —  Little  children  like  casts  of  animals  like 
Barye's  "  Walking  Lion,"  and  of  children  like  Donatello's 
"  St.  John  "  (see  Plate  XXV),  but  often  a  relief  strikes 
them  as  a  curiosity,  and  all  perception  of  its  beauty  is 
swallowed  up  of  wonder.  In  the  upper  grades  the  fine 
qualities  of  reliefs  are  more  likely  to  be  appreciated. 


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SCHOOLROOM   DECORATION  113 

Moreover,  in  casts  for  public  mixed  schools  the  treat- 
ment of  the  subject  should  be  considered  with  some 
regard  to  American  ideals.  We  are  not  Greeks  or 
Frenchmen.  Artists  make  a  nice  distinction  between 
the  nude  and  the  naked,  a  distinction  all  ought  to  make 
who  have  the  selection  of  casts  or  pictures  for  schools. 
The  following:  is  a  classified  list  of  the  best  casts  :  — 


KINDERGARTEN  AND  PRIMARY  GRADES 
In  the  Round 


Infant  St.  John 
Singing  Cherubs. 
Elephant  Running 
Rabbit  Reclining 


Bambino  . 
Madonna  and  Child 


In  Relief 


INTERMEDIATE  GRADES 

/;/  the  Round 

St.  George         ..... 
Youthful  St.  John     . 

Lion  Walking 

Panther  Reclining     .... 

In  Relief 

Madonna  and  Child 
Choir  Boys  —  with  Book 
Flight  of  Time          .... 

GRAMMAR  GRADES 

In  the  Round 
Young  Augustus. 
Sphinx,  British  Museum. 
Victory  of  Samothrace. 


Donatello. 

Barye. 
Barye. 


Delia  Robbia. 
Donatello. 


Donatello. 
Donatello. 
Barye. 
Barye. 


Michael  Angelo 
Delia  Robbia. 
Hunt. 


114       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

David Mercie. 

Washington Houdon. 

hi  Relief 

Chariot  Race  (starting). 

Triumph  of  Alexander. 

Choir  Boys  with  Scroll      ....         Delia  Robbia. 

Angels  bearing  Wreaths  ....        Ghilberti. 

Victory  untying  Sandals. 

HIGH  SCHOOL  GRADES 

In  the  Round 
Hermes  of  Olympia. 
Apollo  Belvidere. 
Venus  Milo. 
Sophocles. 
Narcissus. 
Homer,  of  Naples. 
Zeus  Atricoli. 

Lorenzo  de'  Medici  .....       Michael  Angelo. 
David Michael  Angelo. 

In  Relief 

Victory  dedicating  a  Trophy. 

Bacchante  (with  arm  above  head). 

Apollo  and  the  Muses. 

Angels  with  Musical  Instruments     .         .         Donatello. 

Sections  of  the  Parthenon  Frieze. 

OTHER    BEAUTIFUL    OBJECTS 
VASES 

Vases  are  of  two  sorts  :  those  which  are  for  use,  and 
those  which  exist  for  their  own  sake  only,  like  beauty. 
Vases  of  the  first  sort  must  be  appropriate  to  their 
uses.  Vases  of  the  second  sort  have  no  excuse  for 
being  if  they  are  not  beautiful  in  form,  or  beautiful  in 


PLATE  XXVIII.  — THE  FIGHTING  TEMERAIRE,  BY  TURNER.  THE 
MADONNA  OF  THE  CHAIR,  BY  RAPHAEL.  FEEDING  HER  BIRDS, 
BY  MILLET.  NOTRE  DAME,  PARIS. 


PLATE  XXIX.— (i)  TWO  FLOWER  VASES  AND  AN  ORNAMEN- 
TAL JAR.  (2)  TWO  FLOWER  VASES  AND  A  JAPANESE 
FIGURE. 

All  inexpensive  objects,  each  excellent  in  its  place. 


SCHOOLROOM   DECORATION  115 

color,  or  both.  These  are  the  vases  par  excellence. 
For  a  choice  vase  of  this  sort  a  Greek  would  give  a 
score  of  slaves,  a  Roman  barter  an  estate,  and  an  Eng- 
lish nobleman  pay  five  thousand  pounds.  To  produce 
such  a  vase  a  Chinese  potter  would  give  his  life. 

This  is  not  the  place  to  treat  even  suggestively  what 
constitutes  beauty  in  vase  forms,  but  after  observing 
for  several  years  the  character  of  the  bric-a-brac  often 
collected  by  well-meaning  persons,  one  is  tempted  to 
define  negatively  the  more  obvious  features  of  a  beauti- 
ful vase. 

1.  A  vase  with  excrescences  upon  the  surface,  clay 
roses  and  the  like,  wJiich  break  up  the  contour  lines,  is 
not  good. 

2.  A  vase  with  naturalistic  flowers  painted  upon  the 
surface  in  brilliant  colors  and  gold* is  to  be  avoided. 

3.  A  vase  with  a  scalloped  or  waved  lip  is  bad. 

4.  A  vase  with   a   rough   granulated    surface  which 
catches    the   dust,  and  reduces  the    surface   to   a  dull 
lustreless  finish  is  not  desirable. 

5.  A  vase  with  ugly  proportions  and  loose  unrefined 
curves  is  bad.     What  constitutes  good  proportion  and 
refined  curvature  may  not  be  stated  off  hand,  but  one 
might  say  that  equality  in  the  measures  of  dissimilar 
parts  is  unpleasing  (for  example,  length  of    neck  and 
length  of  body,  width  of  lip  and  width  of  body,  width 
of  body  and  width  of  base),  and  that  as  a  rule  circular 
and  irregular  or  broken  curves  in  the  contour  are  not 
beautiful.     For  illustrations  of  beautiful  vase  forms,  see 
Plates  XXIX,   XXX,  and  XXXI.     Notice  the  subtle 
proportions,  the  temperate  and  refined  curves,  the  ex- 
quisite play  of  light  over  the  glowing  surfaces. 


Il6       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

When  purchasing  vases  for  decorative  purposes  re- 
member that  one  beautiful  thing  is  worth  more  than 
any  number  of  commonplace  things.  It  is  the  habit 
of  some  to  buy  one  little  bit  of  pottery  because  it  is 
pretty  and  cheap,  and  another  for  the  same  reason,  and 
another,  because  they  cannot  afford  to  purchase  more 
expensive  things.  Presently  the  room  becomes  clut- 
tered, and  the  price  paid  for  the  bewildering  collection 
is  greater  than  the  cost  of  some  really  beautiful  treasure 
—  some  exquisite  vase  which  is  in  itself  almost  enough 
to  furnish  an  apartment  with  beauty. 

Professor  Morse  of  Salem  has  said  that  a  Japanese 
nobleman  would  never  think  of  crowding  his  walls  with 
pictures  or  his  stands  with  vases ;  that  is  pure  osten- 
tation, as  inartistic  as  it  is  vulgar.  He  has  his  collec- 
tion of  treasures  from  which  he  selects  a  picture  or  a 
vase,  according  to  his  mood,  and  places  it  in  the  best 
possible  light  where  his  friends  and  himself  can  enjoy 
its  beauty  to  the  full.  When  another  is  to  be  enjoyed, 
the  first  is  returned  to  its  place  in  the  cabinet.  We 
have  much  to  learn  from  the  Japanese :  not  quantity, 
but  quality  should  be  the  standard ;  not  how  much  clay 
and  pigment  for  the  money,  but  how  much  loveliness. 

If  the  first  vase  selected  is  tall  and  stately,  let  the 
next  be  of  a  different  form  and  of  some  harmonizing 
color.  If  the  vases  are  to  be  placed  side  by  side,  each 
should  enhance  by  contrast  the  beauty  of  its  compan- 
ion, like  a  handsome  and  noble  man  by  the  side  of  a 
queenly  woman  —  "each  the  other  adorning."  Plates 
XXIX,  XXX,  and  XXXI  show  several  simple  groups  of 
vases  arranged  by  Mr.  Bunkio  Matsuki  of  Tokio  and 
Boston,  who  has  done  so  much  for  art  instruction  in 


PLATE  XXX.  — THE  SACRED   LILY  FITLY  SET. 

The  vase  an  object  of  use,  primarily,  but  a  thing  of  beauty  because  in  perfect 
harmony  with  other  objects  in  the  group. 


PLATE  XXXI.  — AN    OBJECT   OF  BEAUTY. 

One  such  object  is  more  desirable  as  a  piece  of  decorative  furnishing  than  a 
dozen  cheap,  inartistic  things. 


SCHOOLROOM    DECORATION  117 

America  through  his  active  interest  in  our  public  schools. 
These  groups  will  richly  repay  careful  study  :  they  are 
not  the  work  of  an  amateur.  The  Japanese  have  prac- 
ticed the  grouping  of  objects  until  they  are  as  sensitive 
to  balance  of  mass,  contrast  of  hue,  and  harmony  of 
color  as  we  are  to  heat  and  cold. 

TILES 

Colored  tiles  are  suitable  for  schoolroom  decoration 
because  of  their  beauty  and  durability,  and  especially 
because  by  means  of  them  the  color  of  the  room  may 
be  enriched. 

An  ancient  Persian  tile  is  quite  as  marvellously  col- 
ored, in  its  way,  as  a  rare  Persian  rug ;  some  of  the 
tiles  of  the  Moors  are  wonders  of  design  and  color,  to 
say  nothing  of  their  purely  technical  qualities ;  and  an 
old  Dutch  tile  is  as  quaint  as  the  peasants  of  Maarken 
and  as  lovely  as  the  sky  over  the  North  Sea. 

In  recent  years  the  art  of  tile-making  has  been  re- 
vived in  America  with  conspicuous  success.  Tiles  of 
pretty  pattern  and  of  exquisite  color  may  be  had  at 
reasonable  prices  from  the  stores  of  any  first-class 
manufactory.  Tiles  group  well  with  vases  because 
while  harmonizing  in  kind  they  vary  in  pattern  and 
qualities  of  surface  and  contrast  sharply  in  line. 

Plate  XXXII  shows  half-tone  reproductions  of  water- 
color  drawings  of  groups,  showing  the  effective  use  of 
tiles  as  decorative  material. 

To  describe  a  beautiful  tile,  that  a  novice  may  be 
guided  in  selecting,  is  even  more  difficult  than  to  de- 
scribe a  beautiful  vase.  About  all  that  can  be  said 


Il8       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

(1)  Avoid,  as  a  rule,  all   tiles  with   figures  in    high 
relief. 

(2)  Reject  those  which  attempt  the  naturalistic  rep- 
resentation of  flowers,  butterflies,  etc. 

(3)  Do  not  purchase,  even  "at  a  bargain,"  tiles  which 
are  ugly  in    pattern  or  inharmonious  in    color.     Such 
things  cost  too  much  even  when  acquired  as  gifts.1 

(4)  Do  not    purchase  a  number  of  small   tiles  ;   put 
the  money  into  one  or  two  large  beauties,  which  have 
sufficient  dignity  to  stand  alone,  so  to  speak,  without 
giving  the  impression  of  being  pieces  of  something. 

VASES    FOR    FLOWERS 

Vases  which  are  to  serve  as  receptacles  for  flowers 
are  primarily  objects  of  use  ;  their  office  is  subordinate, 
they  no  longer  hold  first  place,  hence  they  should  have 
certain  well-defined  characteristics. 

1.  A  vase  for  flowers  should  be  stable,  able  to  stand 
securely  upon  its  feet,  and  that  without  being  ballasted 
with  sand  as  in  the  days  of  our  great-grandmothers. 

2.  It    should    have  a  form  which  does  not  interfere 
with  its  use.     Here  are  illustrations  of  forms  adapted  to 
various  kinds  and  groups  of  flowers.     (See  Fig.  17.) 

3.  It  should  have  a  color  which  will  harmonize  with 
the  colors  of  flowers  either  by  analogy  or  contrast.     A 
clear  glass  or  a  delicately  tinted  glass  is  always  safe,  for 

1  A  word  might  he  added  as  to  the  acceptance  of  gifts  for  the  school- 
room. The  subject  is  a  delicate  one.  Gifts  of  money  are  preferable,  that 
with  it  persons  of  good  taste  in  art  matters  may  purchase  right  things. 
To  forestall  the  necessity  of  accepting  and  hanging  anything  and  every- 
thing, the  school  committee  might  make  a  rule  that  no  work  of  art  is  to  be 
accepted  for  schoolroom  decoration  without  the  approval  of  a  committee 
of  three  competent  persons,  one  a  teacher. 


PLATE  XXXII.  — ILLUSTRATIONS  OF   THE  EFFECTIVE  USE  OF 
A   FIGURED  TILE  IN  A   DECORATIVE  GROUP. 


SCHOOLROOM    DECORATION 


119 


its  color  is  modified  by  whatever  is  placed  within  it.  As 
a  rule,  the  brilliantly  colored  vases  are  to  be  avoided,  for 
their  colors  vie  with  those  of  the  flowers  themselves. 
4.  It  ought  not  to  be  necessary  to  add  that  a  flower 
vase  should  not  itself  be  obtrusively  decorated  with 
flowers.  It  is  not  the  province  of  art  to  rival  nature. 
No  flowers  modeled  in  clay,  no  painted  representation 
of  a  flower,  though  outlined  with  gold  and  set  with  jewels, 
can  for  a  moment  compete  successfully  with  any  flower 
of  the  fields. 


FIG.  17.  —  VASES  FOR  FLOWKRS. 


FLOWERS 

Nothing,  except  a  charming  teacher,  adds  so  much 
to  the  cheerfulness  and  beauty  of  a  schoolroom  as  a  few 
fresh  flowers  at  the  window  or  in  a  vase  upon  the  teacher's 
desk. 

A  window  garden  may  be  simply  a  tray  to  fit  the  win- 
clow  stool  and  containing  a  group  of  potted  plants,  or  it 
may  be  a  water  tight  box  filled  with  earth,  —  a  veritable 
garden  in  miniature.  In  either  case  it  will  require  con- 


120       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND  DECORATION 

stant  care,  of  the  sort  which  few  if  any  janitors  will  or 
can  bestow.  "  How  do  you  manage  to  have  such  beau- 
tiful plants  always  in  blossom  ?  "  once  asked  a  teacher  of 
another;  "my  plants  won't  bloom."  "I  love  mine  so," 
was  the  reply,  "that  they  can't  help  blooming  for  me." 
Love,  no  doubt,  would  be  found  to  be  in  the  final  analy- 
sis the  secret  of  the  success  of  the  window  garden. 

An  aquarium  is  not  to  be  despised  as  a  piece  of  deco- 
ration, especially  for  the  lower  grades.  Its  color  is 
fresh  and  its  life  makes  a  living  picture  ever  full  of  in- 
terest.1 

Bouquets  of  flowers  for  the  teacher's  desk  need  not 
be  the  round-headed,  Joseph's-coat-like  clumps  so  popu- 
lar in  the  extremely  rural  districts.  If  masses  of  flowers 
are  desired,  let  the  flowers  be  of  one  kind,  or  at  most  of 
two  contrasting  kinds,  arranged  not  in  a  compact  head, 
but  loosely,  to  show  the  characteristic  lines  of  growth 
which  are  often  quite  as  charming  as  the  flowers  them- 
selves. The  rough  sketches  on  page  119  will  be  sug- 
gestive. The  vase  as  well  as  the  flowers  should  be 
considered  in  any  arrangement  —  the  lines  of  one  will 
supplement  or  complement  the  lines  of  the  other,  that 
both  together  may  compose  a  mass,  in  which  line,  text- 
ure, and  color  will  combine  to  produce  a  beautiful  whole. 

Plates  XXXIII  to  XXXVI  inclusive  are  from  photo- 
graphs taken  by  Professor  Clarence  Moores  Weed  of 
the  New  Hampshire  College  of  Agriculture  at  Durham 
from  flower  arrangements  of  his  own,  will  help  establish 
ideals  of  good  form.  Such  a  book  as  "Japanese  Flower 

1  For  suggestions  for  making  an  aquarium  see  Teachers'  Leaflets  No.  II, 
by  Mary  F.  Rogers.  Published  April,  1898.  College  of  Agriculture,  Cor- 
nell University,  Ithaca,  N.  Y. 


By  permission  of  Clarence  Hf cores  Weed,  Durham,  tf.  H. 
PLATE  XXXIII.— THE  EFFECTIVE  USE  OF  THE  JARDINIERE. 


By  permission  of  Clarence  Moores  Weed,  Durham,  N.  H. 

PLATE  XXXIV.  — AN  APPROPRIATE  VASE  FOR  A  SINGLE 
PLANT,  TO  DISPLAY  BEAUTY  OF  FORM  IN  LEAF. 
STEM,  AND  BLOSSOM. 


SCHOOLROOM    DECORATION  121 

Arrangement,"  by  Josiah  Conder,  will  show  to  what 
extent  the  science  of  arrangement  may  be  carried,  and 
will  yield  the  thoughtful  reader  rich  returns. 

But  after  all  has  been  said,  the  fact  remains  that 
beauty  will  not  come  by  prescriptions.  A  person  of 
artistic  temperament  and  training  will  produce  an  artistic 
room.  Happy  is  that  school  board  which  has  in  its  em- 
ploy a  teacher  whose  presence  creates  beauty.  She  is 
more  precious  than  rubies.  Her  ways  are  ways  of 
pleasantness,  and  all  her  paths  are  peace.  She  is  a  tree 
of  life  to  them  that  are  under  her  instruction,  and  happy 
are  they  that  retain  her. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

THE  OLD  COUNTRY  SCHOOLROOM 

IN  out-of-the-way  corners  of  the  country  and  else- 
where are  still  to  be  found  the  little  old-fashioned 
schoolhouses  of  uncertain  age,  where  the  fathers  and 
their  fathers  for  many  generations  have  fought  the 
good  fight  and  laid  hold  on  education.  Many  of  these 
weather-beaten  structures  are  rather  picturesque,  with 
their  much-climbed  trees  and  worn-out  yards.1  But 
within,  they  are  often  forlorn  and  ugly.  The  young 
woman  fresh  from  the  Normal  School,  with  her  high 
ideals  gathered  from  the  model  schoolrooms  of  her 
Alma  Mater,  looks  at  the  begrimed  and  falling  ceiling, 
at  the  clingy  walls  with  their  unsightly  cracks,  at  the 
dusty  rough  blackboards,  at  the  unwashed  windows,  the 
weather-stained  and  tattered  curtains,  at  the  battered 
and  incised  desks,  the  coarse  floor  with  knots  and  nail- 
heads  in  high  relief  —  what  wonder  that  she  longs  to 
be  promoted  to  a  village  school  with  modern  furnish- 
ings ! 

But  some  of  these  ills  can  be  cured,  and  therefore 
need  not  be  long  endured.  Indeed,  it  is  just  possible 
that  the  room  contains  unsightly  elements  in  the  form 

1  For  improving  the  yard,  see  suggestions  in  Bulletin  No.  160,  by  L.  H. 
Bailey.  Published  January,  1899.  Cornell  University  Agricultural  Experi- 
ment Station,  Ithaca,  N.  Y. 

122 


By  permission  of  Clarence  Maoris  Weed,  Durham,  N.  H. 

PLATE  XXXV.  — VASES  APPROPRIATE  TO  THE  FLOWERS  THEY 
HOLD,  BOTH   IN   FORM   AND  COLOR. 


By  permission  of  Clarence  Moores  Weed,  Durham,  N.  H. 
PLATE  XXXVI.  — A  WELL  PLACED   FLOWER. 

The  vase  echoes,  reversed,  the  form  of  flower  and  seed  pod,  and  contrasts 
strongly  with  the  leaves,  both  in  form  and  texture. 


THE  OLD  COUNTRY  SCHOOLROOM     123 

of  decorations,  which  may  be  eliminated  at  once.  Are 
there  advertising  cards  and  cheap  chromos  pasted  or 
tacked  upon  the  wall,  or  bouquets  of  dried  grasses  and 
tissue  paper  flowers  ?  Are  there  old  discolored  maps, 
faded  prints  of  educators  and  authors,  examples  of 
pupils'  work,  wilted  and  dust-covered  ? 

The  maps  and  the  notables  should  be  put  into  the 
closet  for  -possible  future  reference,  and  all  the  rubbish 
should  be  burned. 

A  scrubbing  party  may  now  be  organized  and  the 
room  cleaned  thoroughly  from  ceiling  to  floor,  then,  if 
nothing  more  satisfactory  can  be  done,  any  mason  can 
be  hired  to  whitewash  the  walls.  But  before  resorting 
to  so  extreme  a  measure  as  pure  whitewash,  one  may 
think  a  bit.  A  tinted  kalsomine  will  cost  but  little  if 
any  more  than  whitewash.  Consider  the  color  of  the 
woodwork.  It  may  not  be  so  bad,  now  that  it  has  been 
cleansed,  and  if  it  is  rather  too  bad  after  all,  possibly 
the  school  committee  man,  now  that  he  has  discovered 
a  teacher  who  means  business,  would  be  willing  to  have 
the  woodwork  painted  a  single  coat,  not  much  different 
in  color  from  the  old,  perhaps,  but  sufficient  to  give  the 
room  a  fresher  look.  A  tint  may  be  selected  for  the 
walls,  similar  to  the  color  of  the  woodwork,  but  lighter, 
and  by  adding  white  to  the  wall  tint,  a  more  delicate 
tint  for  the  ceiling  may  be  produced.  The  old  black- 
boards shall  be  kept  as  tidy  as  possible  —  surface  clean, 
chalk  trays  swept  —  and  the  whole  room  shall  be  swept 
and  dusted  every  day. 

The  windows  may  be  furnished  as  follows :  procure 
for  each  window  cambric  of  the  right  size  and  color  to 
make  a  curtain  three  inches  wider  and  three  inches 


124       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 


longer  than  the  opening,  a  thin  flat  strip  of  wood  equal 
to  the  width  of  the  .curtain,  a  round  stick  of  the  same 
length,  and  a  cord  twice  as  long  as  the  curtain.  Find 
the  middle  of  this  cord  and  fasten  it  by  a  single  tack 
to  the  middle  of  the  lower  edge  of  the  window  cap. 

Now  tack  one  end  of  the 
curtain  to  the  thin  flat  strip 
and  the  other  end  to  the 
round  rod  ;  and,  folding  the 
curtain  over  the  flat  stick 
to  cover  it,  fasten  the  stick 
to  the  window  cap,  taking 
care  to  have  one  part  of  the 
cord  fall  behind  the  curtain 
and  one  part  in  front  of  it. 
The  curtain  may  now  be 
rolled  up  upon  the  round 
rod,  and  fastened  at  any 
desired  height  by  tying  the 
cords.  One  or  two  flower- 
ing plants, — geraniums  are 
hardy  and  cheerful,  — 
placed  upon  the  window 
stool,  and  grouped  prettily, 
will  complete  the  transfor- 
mation. 

Upon  the  teacher's  desk  shall  stand  a  clear  glass 
tumbler  or  a  simple  vase  of  some  sort,  filled  daily  with 
fresh  water.  There  shall  be  kept  the  daily  offering  of 
cut  flowers.  Not  a  collection  of  them,  not  a  confused 
bunch  of  all  colors,  but  a  few  of  one  kind  only  at  a  time, 
arranged  to  show  their  graceful  forms  and  pure  colors  to 


FIG.  18.  —  AN  ATTRACTIVE 
WINDOW. 


THE  OLD  COUNTRY  SCHOOLROOM     125 

the  best  advantage.  The  children  will  be  glad  to  help 
furnish  them,  and  at  the  close  of  the  session  to  take 
them  to  their  little  friends  who  happen  to  be  ill  at  home. 

A  piece  of  denim,  green  gray,  or  some  other  soft  color, 
stretched  over  a  tablet  of  thin  boards,  may  be  fitted  into 
some  narrow  space  between  the  window  and  a  door,  or 
elsewhere,  to  serve  as  a  bulletin  board  for  the  display  of 
excellent  work  or  reference  material.  Hereafter  such 
things  shall  not  be  tacked  along  the  top  of  the  black- 
board, nor  hung  upon  lines  like  washing. 

For  wall  pictures,  one  must  have  the  best  or  none. 
The  teacher  may  have  a  beautiful  picture  of  her  own,  a 
photograph  from  some  famous  old  master,  that  might  be 
loaned  to  the  school  for  a  few  days.  Movements  might 
be  started  to  secure  by  subscription  or  otherwise  one  or 
two  beautiful  things.  During  the  five  years  prior  to 
1897  works  of  art  were  procured  for  schools  in  more 
than  seventy  cities  and  towns  in  Massachusetts  at  a 
total  cost  of  nearly  twenty  thousand  dollars,  and  yet 
none  of  this  money  came  from  the  public  funds ;  it  was 
raised  through  the  activity  of  teachers  and  others  inter- 
ested in  more  beautiful  schoolrooms,  raised  by  subscrip- 
tion, by  contributions,  by  means  of  entertainments  given 
by  school  children.  Where  there's  a  will  there's  a  way. 
It  may  be  that  in  the  town  lives  some  rich  person  who 
will  gladly  give  a  fine  photograph  or  a  cast,  and  who 
needs  but  an  invitation. 

But  suppose  such  things  cannot  be  had.  An  old 
picture  frame  may  be  found,  scraped,  rubbed  down  with 
oil  or  shellac,  a  glass  fitted  into  it,  and  a  back  made, 
which  may  be  removed  easily.  A  full-page  engraving 
from  a  magazine,  a  half-tone  reproduction,  a  Japanese 


126       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

print,  an  unmounted  photograph,  —  such  pictures  any- 
body can  procure  in  these  days,  —  these  may  be 
mounted  on  gray  cards  of  uniform  size  to  fit  the  frame, 
and  each  displayed  for  a  day  or  two,  or  a  week  or  more. 
In  any  event  the  teacher  should  decree  that  nothing 
but  beautiful  things  shall  be  hung  upon  the  walls. 
Better  bare  walls  than  debased  and  debasing  art ;  bet- 
ter nothing  in  the  way  of  decoration  than  decoration 
which  is  worse  than  nothing.  The  following  list  may 
prove  useful  to  the  country  teacher  who  wishes  to  be 
able  to  name  one  desirable  work  of  art,  and  then  an- 
other and  another,  as  interest  increases  :  — 

Caritas Abbott  Thayer. 

Feeding  Her  Birds Millet. 

Madonna  of  the  Chair      ....  Raphael. 

Lion  (cast)       ......  Barye. 

A  Cathedral,  Notre  Dame,  Canterbury,  or  Amiens. 

The  Aurora Guido  Reni. 

Paysage Carot. 

Automedon Regnault. 

A  Bambino  (cast) Delia  Robbia. 

Sir  Galahad Watts. 

Old  Te'me'raire Turner. 

Infant  St.  John  (cast)      ....  Donatello. 

Make  a  bold  beginning  and  believe  in  your  ultimate 
success  in  securing  what  you  want  for  the  children. 

"  As  garment  draws  the  garment's  hem, 
Men  their  fortunes  bring  with  them. 

By  right  or  wrong 

Lands  and  goods  go  to  the  strong — 
Property  will  brutely  draw 
Still  to  the  proprietor ; 
Silver  to  silver  creep  and  wind, 

And  kind  to  kind." 


CHAPTER   IX 

SCHOOL    CHILDREN 

IT  cannot  be  too  clearly  understood  that  the  function 
of  education  is  to  prepare  the  child  for  his  life-work,  and 
the  true  test  of  the  value  of  an  educational  course  lies 
in  whether  it  fulfills  this  end.  In  order  that  this  prepara- 
tion may  be  complete,  the  physical  side  of  the  child's 
nature  must  be  embraced  within  its  scope,  as  well  as 
the  mental  and  moral  sides.  By  the  physical  side  is 
not  meant  necessarily  physical  culture  alone,  but  the 
general  hygiene  of  the  child,  including  the  care  of  the 
body  and  the  protection  against  various  diseases  com- 
mon to  school  children.  From  the  time  that  a  child 
enters  the  schoolhouse  he  is  subject  to  its  influence. 
If  the  school  seats  and  desks  are  not  right,  he  is  likely 
to  be  afflicted  with  spinal  curvature  or  some  other  de- 
formity. If  the  lighting  is  defective,  his  eyes  are  almost 
sure  to  surfer.  If  the  building  is  in  a  noisy  neighbor- 
hood, the  result  will  be  evident  on  his  nerves.  If  the 
•  sanitary  condition  of  the  school  is  not  good,  he  is  subject 
to  the  dangers  of  some  of  the  infectious  diseases  that 
come  from  unsanitary  conditions.  Furthermore,  if  a 
proper  supervision  is  not  kept  of  the  children  them- 
selves as  to  their  cleanliness  and  freedom  from  disease, 
he  is  again  subjected  to  the  dangers  common  to  school 
life.  So  that  from  the  moment  of  the  opening  of  the 

127 


128       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

school,  the  greatest  care  should  be  taken  to  have  all  of 
these  factors  which  tend  to  exert  an  unhealthf ul  influence 
upon  the  child  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

At  conventions  and  teachers'  meetings  much  time  is 
spent  discussing  the  sequence  of  studies,  the  proper  age 
or  grade  in  which  arithmetic,  or  geography,  or  grammar, 
may  be  taught  the  child  with  best  results ;  and  yet  until 
within  the  last  few  years  almost  no  attention  has  been 
given  to  the  physical  and  sanitary  side  of  school  life. 
In  regard  to  physical  culture  itself,  in  many  towns 
gymnastics  has  been  too  much  the  fad,  and  much  more 
attention  has  been  given  to  physical  culture  than  to  all 
other  departments  of  the  school  together.  In  a  few 
instances,  however,  teachers  have  become  interested  in 
the  sanitary  welfare  of  the  school,  and  have  attempted 
to  carry  out  much-needed  reforms  ;  but  as  far  as  con- 
certed thought  and  action  are  concerned,  little  time  has 
been  devoted  to  the  sanitary  conditions  of  schools.  The 
teachers  have  been  allowed  to  shift  about  for  themselves. 
Bad  effects  are  the  results  of  this,  as  are  seen  throughout 
the  United  States,  in  the  proportion  of  bad  eyes,  curved 
spines,  and  otherwise  crippled  bodies  which  too  often 
mark  the  public  school  pupil.  However,  there  have 
been  waves  of  reform  spreading  throughout  the  teach- 
ing fraternity,  and  it  is  only  hoped  that  these  waves  will 
become  tidal. 

To  return  to  the  child  himself.  It  has  been  found  in 
many  instances  that  teachers  have  been  misunderstand- 
ing some  of  their  pupils,  as  they  have  perhaps  thought 
a  boy  to  be  dull  and  stupid,  while  in  reality  he  could  not 
hear  distinctly  the  questions  put  to  him  ;  or  perhaps  he 
could  not  see  the  blackboard  or  the  page  of  the  book,  on 


SCHOOL   CHILDREN  129 


V 


account  of  some  trouble  with  his  eyes.  If  such  defects 
can  be  discovered  and  made  known  to  the  teacher,  such 
pupils  could  be  favored.  For  example,  one  that  is 
slightly  hard  of  hearing  could  be  given  a  front  seat, 
or  one  with  defective  eyes  could  be  provided  with 
glasses,  or  placed  in  a  better  light,  or  given  a  seat  ena- 
bling him  to  see  the  blackboard.  Thus  it  may  be  seen 
that  the  arrangement  of  the  children  in  the  room  is  a 
matter  of  vital  importance,  especially  to  those  children 
who  are  suffering  from  defects  of  one  or  more  of  the 
senses.  By  favoring  individual  cases  it  is  possible  for 
the  teacher  to  bring  out  pupils  who  up  to  that  time  had 
passed  as  stupid,  and  had  been  subject  to  ridicule  by 
their  classmates.  Laughter  from  other  pupils  at  sup- 
posed mistakes,  which  were  mistakes  only  because  of 
the  inability  of  the  child  to  understand  the  question, 
naturally  would  tend  to  make  such  a  one  withdraw 
within  himself  and  become  habitually  silent.  A  little 
attention  on  the  part  of  the  teacher  to  such  cases  will 
often  develop  a  remarkably  bright  pupil  who  otherwise 
would  be  allowed  to  remain  in  the  same  grade  for  sev- 
eral terms  as  incapable  of  advancement. 

It  is  not  the  intention  to  give  the  idea  that  all  cases 

of  stupidity  or  dullness  are  due  to  these  causes,  for  it  is 

only  too  well  known  that  there  are  many  bona-fide  in- 

.  stances  of  weak  minds  among  the  pupils  in  our  public 

schools. 

In  regard  to  regulation  of  the  school  work,  the  teach- 
ers have  their  work  usually  planned  for  them.  They 
are  given  a  certain  amount  of  ground  to  cover.  They 
must  use  individual  discretion,  however,  in  working  their 
pupils,  taking  care  not  to  force  the  whole  class  in  order 
K 


130       SCHOOL  SANITATION  AND   DECORATION 

to  make  them  keep  up  with  one  or  two  exceptionally 
bright  children.  It  is  far  better  to  hold  the  quickest 
ones  back,  or  perhaps  put  them  in  a  higher  grade,  than 
to  attempt  to  push  beyond  their  capacity  a  whole  class 
of  average  ability.  Much  injury  can  be  done  by  this 
process  of  forcing,  and  care  should  be  exercised  on  the 
part  of  the  teacher  to  accommodate  the  work  to  the 
capabilities  of  the  age,  sex,  and  individual  weaknesses 
of  her  flock. 

Most  school  children  are  quite  incapable  of  looking 
after  their  own  health.  As  a  rule,  they  do  not  under- 
stand the  importance  of  good  ventilation,  hygienic  furni- 
ture, and  cleanly  habits ;  so  that  everything  must  be 
done  to  save  them  from  physical  harm  while  in  school. 
And  yet,  as  seen  in  Chapter  V,  there  are  many  diseases 
brought  about  in  pupils  owing  to  defective  furniture. 
The  seats  and  desks,  if  not  the  proper  height  from  the 
floor  and  distance  from  each  other,  tend  to  bring  about 
bodily  deformities  that  cling  throughout  life. 

Physicians  have  made  a  special  study  of  these  school 
deformities,  among  the  most  common  of  which  is  curva- 
ture of  the  spine. 

SPINAL     CURVATURE 

The  fact  appears  to  be  clearly  established  that  nearly 
all  cases  of  spinal  curvature  can  be  directly  traced  to 
school  life.  It  is  almost  never  an  inherited  trouble.  Of 
the  23,293  children  born  in  a  Paris  maternity  hospital, 
only  one  was  affected  with  this  deformity.  Eulenberg 
cites  some  very  interesting  statistics  as  to  the  age  at 
which  lateral  curvature  of  the  spine  originates,  his  re- 
searches covering  a  thousand  cases. 


SCHOOL  CHILDREN  131 

Cases.  Per  cent 

Before  the  second  year 5  .50 

Between  second  and  third  years       ...  21  2.10 

Between  third  and  fourth  years        ...  9  .90 

Between  fourth  and  fifth  years          .         .         .  10  i.oo 

Between  fifth  and  sixth  years   ....  33  3.30 

Between  sixth  and  seventh  years      .         .         .  216  21.60 

Between  seventh  and  tenth  years     .         .         .  564  56.40 

Between  tenth  and  fourteenth  years          .         .  107  10.70 

Between  fourteenth  and  twentieth  years  .         .  28  2.80 

Between  twentieth  and  thirtieth  years  7  .70 

This  table  shows  that  95.8  per  cent  of  this  one  thou- 
sand cases  originated  between  the  ages  of  four  and 
twenty,  and  92  per  cent  between  the  ages  of  five  and 
fourteen.  The  sex  of  the  child  seems  to  have  some  in- 
fluence upon  predisposing  to  this  lateral  curvature,  for 
there  are  about  four  times  as  many  cases  occurring  in 
females  as  in  males. 

Posterior  curvature  or  "round  shoulders"  is  a  spinal 
deformity  brought  about  by  the  children  remaining  in 
faulty  positions,  such  as  stooping  forward  over  a  desk, 
or  bending  over  their  books,  or  by  the  use  of  an  im- 
proper seat  which  causes  the  spinal  column  to  sag 
between  the  two  points  of  support.  Aside  from  detract- 
ing much  from  the  personal  appearance,  such  deformity 
is  unfortunate  because  it  impedes  respiration  and  other 
functions.  To  prevent  these  deformities  so  common  in 
school,  the  following  points  may  be  noted :  — 

First,  the  pupil  should  be  furnished  with  a  desk  of 
proper  height,  but  not  so  high  that  the  right  arm  and 
shoulder  must  be  raised  in  writing.  Place  the  desk 
close  enough  to  the  pupil  that  he  may  not  be  compelled 
to  lean  forward  in  using  it.  The  seat  must  be  of  the 


132       SCHOOL  SANITATION  AND   DECORATION 

proper  height  and  shape,  and  the  back  rest  must  support 
the  spine  where  this  support  is  needed. 

Second,  if  the  child  is  subjected  to  any  duty  for  a  pro- 
longed period,  even  if  properly  seated,  there  is  danger  of 
physical  injury,  therefore  the  teacher  should  allow  fre- 
quent pauses  to  rest  the  eyes  and  the  brain,  and  if  possi- 
ble by  active  play  enable  the  muscular  system  to  rectify 
any  tendency  to  deformity. 


FIG.  19.  — DISTORTED  POSITION  CAUSED  BY  A  HIGH  DESK. 

Third,  the  faulty  slope  of  the  characters  in  the  child's 
copy-book,  the  faulty  positions  of  the  book  itself,  often 
lead  the  pupil  to  twist  himself  into  vicious  postures.  In 
nearly  all  instances  in  which  it  has  been  possible  to  com- 
pare the  positions  of  those  pupils  using  the  vertical  sys- 
tem of  writing  and  those  using  the  sloping  system,  the 
best  position  is  assumed  by  the  vertical  writer. 


SCHOOL  CHILDREN  133 

Fourth,  the  child  should  never  be  kept  standing  long 
at  a  time.  For  when  tired,  he  will  assume  a  faulty  posi- 
tion which  may  finally  produce  curvature  of  the  spine. 

Chorea,  or  St.  Vitus'  dance,  is  a  disease  common  to 
school  children.  Every  teacher  should  be  able  to  rec- 
ognize the  jerky  twitchings,  the  shuffling  of  feet,  the 
contortions  and  twitching  of  eyelids,  which  characterize 
the  disease.  Children  suffering  from  it  require  a  pro- 
longed rest  from  school  work,  and  the  welfare  of  the 
school  demands  that  severe  cases  shall  be  excluded. 

Hysteria  assumes  various  forms  and  may  occasionally 
simulate  a  simple  faint  or  an  epileptic  fit.  It  is  distin- 
guished from  the  former  by  the  absence  of  the  extreme 
pallor  of  the  face  and  lips  which  characterize  fainting  ; 
and  from  the  latter  by  the  fact  that  the  hysterical  pa- 
tient is  usually  not  completely  unconscious,  as  is  shown 
by  the  attempts  to  attract  sympathy  and  attention  and 
by  the  flinching  which  occurs  when  the  white  of  the 
eye  is  touched  with  the  point  of  the  finger.  The  patient 
should  be  treated  firmly,  though  kindly,  and  not  allowed 
to  attract  too  much  attention. 

Defects  of  hearing  are  more  or  less  common  among 
school  children,  and  often  exist  to  a  degree  that  inter- 
feres with  the  progress  of  the  pupil,  and  yet  this  defect 
may  not  be  suspected  by  parents,  teachers,  or  by  the 
pupils  themselves.  The  cause  of  deafness  in  children 
in  many  cases  may  be  traced  back  to  a  previous  case 
of  scarlet  fever  or  measles,  and  a  few  cases  are  found 
where  the  ear  had  been  severely  boxed  or  pulled,  thus 
causing  the  drum-head  to  be  ruptured  or  strained,  with 
consequent  deafness.  Some  cases  have  been  caused  by 
cold  water  passing  from  the  mouth  up  into  the  drum 


134      SCHOOL  SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

through  the  Eustachian  tube,  while  the  child  was  bath- 
ing. Diphtheria,  whooping  cough,  and  mumps  also  some- 
times affect  the  hearing  of  the  child.  An  examination 
of  5902  school  children  by  a  celebrated  Berlin  aurist 
showed  that  1392,  or  23.6  per  cent.,  had  defective  or  dis- 
eased ears.  While  all  of  the  deformities  and  diseases  just 
mentioned  are  of  the  greatest  importance,  because  of  their 
universal  prevalence,  there  is  no  group  of  disorders  so 
vitally  important  as  those  diseases  classed  as  contagious 
and  infectious. 

CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES 

Undoubtedly  the  public  schools  often  serve  as  a 
medium  for  spreading  communicable  diseases.  With- 
out a  medical  inspection  of  the  school  children,  it  is 
next  to  impossible  to  rid  the  public  schools  from  very 
serious  dangers.  These  diseases  may  arise  in  connec- 
tion with  school  life,  through  children  suffering  from 
the  early  symptoms  of  a  disease,  convalescing  from  a 
disease,  or  perhaps,  healthy  themselves,  coming  from 
homes  in  which  there  is  a  contagious  disease.  In  the 
early  stages  measles,  whooping  cough,  mumps,  scarlet 
fever,  and  diphtheria  often  creep  into  the  schoolroom, 
and,  unless  medical  inspection  is  in  vogue,  it  is  essential 
in  order  to  eliminate  these  cases  that  teachers  and 
parents  should  be  familiar  with  the  early  symptoms,  in- 
dicating these  various  diseases,  and  know  the  length  of 
time  during  which  these  diseases  are  communicable. 

Diphtheria  is  perhaps  the  most  serious  of  the  various 
school  diseases.  But  modern  bacteriology  enables  the 
physician  to  diagnose  cases  of  this  disease  very  accu- 
rately a  very  few  hours  after  the  patient  is  suspected. 


SCHOOL  CHILDREN  135 

Furthermore,  by  means  of  the  same  bacteriological 
methods  it  is  possible  to  determine  when  it  is  safe  to 
return  the  child  to  school  without  danger  to  the  other 
children.  The  presence  of  sore  throat  and  feverishness 
in  any  pupil  would  always  justify  the  teacher  in  sending 
the  case  home  with  a  note. 

Small-pox  is  comparatively  rare  among  school  chil- 
dren. Chicken-pox,  on  the  other  hand,  is  quite  common 
and  is  apt  to  appear  without  any  warning  other  than 
slight  feverishness.  The  rash  comes  out  in  twenty- 
four  hours,  and  while  at  first  nothing  but  pimples,  they 
speedily  become  clear  vesicles.  In  many  ways  chicken- 
pox  is  difficult  for  one  not  an  expert  to  diagnose  from 
modified  small-pox.  But  the  rash  in  small-pox  seldom, 
if  ever,  appears  on  the  scalp  as  it  does  in  chicken-pox. 

Scarlet  fever  is  a  very  important  school  disease.  It 
is  serious  because  of  the  after  effects  with  which  it  is 
likely  to  leave  the  child.  Any  child  at  school  who  is 
sick  and  has  a  hot,  dry  skin,  should  be  sent  home  im- 
mediately. If  it  is  scarlet  fever,  within  twenty-four 
hours  a  form  of  red  rash  appears  on  the  chest,  soon 
becoming  a  scarlet  blush  and  spreading  to  the  other 
parts.  It  often  happens  that  the  disease  is  so  slight 
that  the  pupils  may  come  to  school  throughout,  and 
finally  be  discovered  only  by  the  occurrence  of  the 
characteristic  peeling,  or  dropsy  due  to  chill  affecting 
the  kidneys,  which  may  occur  after  the  mildest  cases. 

Measles  comes  on  with  all  the  symptoms  of  a  severe 
cold  in  the  head  with  an  unusual  amount  of  fever.  At 
the  end  of  seventy-two  hours,  red  blotchy  spots  appear 
on  the  face,  hands,  and  other  parts.  The  rapid  spread- 
ing of  this  disease  in  schools  is  greatly  aided  by  the 


136       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

fact  that  it  is  infectious  three  or  four  days  before  the 
eruption  appears. 

Whooping  cough,  although  oftentimes  regarded  as  an 
insignificant  disease,  is  not  at  all  such.  Every  teacher 
should  be  familiar  with  the  whoop  and  send  home  im- 
mediately any  child  who  has  it,  or  even  if  the  child  has 
a  cough  severe  enough  to  produce  nausea. 

Mumps  is  a  disease  serious  enough  to  be  excluded 
from  the  schools.  It  comes  on  with  feverishness  and 
pain  near  the  ear,  followed  by  an  enlargement  of  the 
parotid  salivary  glands.  Any  child  with  a  suspicion  of 
it  should  be  sent  home. 

Tuberculosis  has  not  usually  been  given  much  atten- 
tion in  our  public  schools,  and  yet  undoubtedly  it  is  at 
this  period  of  a  person's  life  that  the  seed  of  the  disease 
is  sown.  It  has  been  quite  satisfactorily  shown  that 
tubercular  infection  is  caused  in  the  majority  of  cases 
by  breathing  the  tuberculous  germs  that  come  from  the 
dried  sputum  that  is  being  blown  about  in  the  air  as 
dust.  In  schools  of  higher  grades,  consumptive  pupils 
sit  at  their  desks  among  other  pupils,  entirely  uncon- 
scious of  danger  or  wrong  to  others,  and  yet  themselves 
are  a  source  of  infection  to  their  fellow-pupils.  If  the 
sputum  be  properly  disposed  of,  the  presence  of  a  con- 
sumptive is  not  dangerous.  Only  tuberculosis  of  the 
lungs  should  make  the  exclusion  from  school  impera- 
tive. In  order  to  have  thorough  protection  against  this 
disease,  there  should  be  strict  rules  forbidding  scholars 
and  teachers  spitting  upon  the  floors  and  insisting  upon 
great  care  against  raising  dust  in  the  schoolroom.  Schol- 
ars with  lung  diseases  should  stay  away  from  school, 
both  in  order  to  avoid  endangering  their  schoolmates, 
and  to  hasten  their  own  recovery. 


SCHOOL  CHILDREN  137 

In  all  of  these  contagious  diseases  a  period  of  time 
elapses  between  the  reception  of  the  infection  in  the 
system  and  the  beginning  of  those  symptoms  which 
characterize  the  disease.  This  is  called  the  period  of 
incubation.  The  following  table  will  give  the  incuba- 
tion periods  for  the  more  common  diseases,  although 
the  figures  here  given  are  subject  to  slight  variations  :  — 

Diphtheria  from  two  to  seven  days. 
Scarlet  fever  from  two  to  five  days. 
Measles  about  eight  days. 
German  measles  from  fourteen  to  twenty  days. 
Small-pox  from  ten  to  twelve  days. 
Chicken-pox  from  thirteen  to  fourteen  days. 
Whooping  cough  about  six  days. 
Mumps  from  fourteen  to  twenty-one  days. 

Another  period  of  great  importance  in  these  diseases 
is  the  period  of  infectiousness.  This  is  the  length  of 
time  during  which  the  child  who  has  or  has  had  an 
infectious  disease  should  be  considered  dangerous  to 
other  children,  and  therefore  should  be  excluded  from 
school.  In  diphtheria,  the  child  should  not  be  read- 
mitted until  the  bacteriological  cultures  indicate  the 
absence  of  the  diphtheria  bacilli  from  the  throat  of  the 
patient.  This  time  is  usually  not  less  than  three  or 
four  weeks.  For  scarlet  fever  it  is  not  less  than  six 
weeks,  or  longer  than  this  if  the  desquamation  is  not 
complete ;  for  measles  from  two  to  four  weeks ;  for 
German  measles  not  earlier  than  two  weeks  from  the 
appearance  of  the  rash.  Small-pox  is  infectious  until 
the  last  trace  of  crust  has  been  cleared  from  the  skin 
and  hair.  Chicken-pox  is  infectious  until  every  scab 
has  fallen  off;  mumps  until  four  weeks  from  the  begin- 


138       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

ning  of  the  disease,  if  all  swelling  has  disappeared  ; 
whooping  cough  usually  not  less  than  eight  weeks. 

Typhoid  fever  and  malaria  may  arise  from  unsanitary 
conditions  about  the  building,  the  water  supply,  or  the 
drainage.  While  typhoid  fever  is  not  a  contagious  disease, 
it  is  caused  by  bacterial  infection,  and  precaution  should 
be  taken  to  protect  the  water  supply  from  pollution. 

The  matter  of  disinfection  in  schools  is  quite  impor- 
tant, particularly  if  there  has  been  a  school  epidemic. 
The  old-fashioned  method  of  burning  sulphur  cannot  be 
wholly  depended  upon,  nor  can  formaldehyde  gas  ;  these 
should  be  supplemented  by  scrubbing  the  infected  room 
and  furniture  with  some  liquid  disinfectant.  As  regards 
the  disinfection  of  books,  no  reliable  method  has  as  yet 
been  devised,  and  the  safest  way  is  undoubtedly  to  burn 
those  books  that  have  been  used  by  the  infected  pupils. 

No  other  precaution  against  the  various  school  dis- 
eases, particularly  the  contagious  diseases,  is  as  effec- 
tive as  the  medical  inspection  of  teachers  and  pupils. 
Sanitary  inspection  has  been  mentioned  in  another  chap- 
ter in  connection  with  the  school  building  and  its  sur- 
roundings, and  that  is  very  important.  But  its  effects 
are  not  so  quickly  realized  as  in  the  case  of  the  medical 
inspection.  Many  look  upon  these  innovations  as  novel 
experiments,  instituted  by  city  boards  of  health  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  physicians  some  pay  and  little  work. 
They  are  not  experiments,  and  no  money  expended  by 
boards  of  health  in  their  war  against  the  spread  of  dis- 
ease is  used  to  better  advantage  than  that  spent  on 
medical  inspection.  While  from  the  point  of  view  of 
boards  of  health  the  principal  function  of  medical  in- 
spection is  to  discover  cases  of  contagious  disease  and 


SCHOOL  CHILDREN  139 

send  them  to  their  homes  before  they  have  done  mis- 
chief, another  important  service  is  the  discovery  of 
defects  of  eyesight  and  hearing,  deformed  bodies  that 
need  attention,  and  other  evils  that  are  being  started  or 
exaggerated  by  the  school  life,  which  the  physicians  are 
able  to  detect  and  remedy. 

Medical  inspection  of  school  children  has  been  prac- 
ticed in  Boston  since  November  i,  1894,  when  it  was 
inaugurated  by  the  chairman  of  the  Board  of  Health, 
Dr.  S.  H.  Durgin.  He  describes  the  operation  of  the 
system  in  Boston  as  follows  :  — 

"The  board  of  health  divided  the  city  into  fifty  districts,  giving 
an  average  of  about  four  schoolhouses  and  fourteen  hundred  pupils 
to  each  district.  No  difficulty  was  experienced  in  finding  well- 
qualified  and  discreet  physicians  who  would  undertake  the  duties 
prescribed ;  and  the  board  selected  and  appointed  one  physician  for 
each  district,  with  a  salary  of  $200  a  year.  His  duty  was  to  make  a 
visit  to  each  master's  school  daily,  soon  after  the  beginning  of  the 
morning  session.  The  master  receives  from  each  of  the  teachers  in 
his  district  early  reports  as  to  the  appearance  of  illness  in  any  pupil 
in  his  charge.  These  reports  are  given  to  the  visiting  physician, 
who  at  once  examines  the  reported  children,  and  makes  a  record  of 
his  diagnosis  and  action  in  books  furnished  by  the  board  of  health 
for  this  purpose,  and  kept  in  the  custody  of  the  master.  If  the  visit- 
ing physician  finds  the  child  too  ill,  from  any  cause,  to  remain  in 
school,  he  advises  the  teacher  to  send  the  child  home  for  the  obser- 
vation and  care  of  its  parents  and  family  physician.  If  the  illness  is 
from  a  contagious  disease,  the  child  is  ordered  home,  and  the  case 
reported  to  the  board  of  health.  The  disposition  of  the  sick  child 
while  at  home  and  the  proper  isolation  in  cases  where  contagious 
diseases  develop  in  such  children,  as  well  as  giving  them  a  warrant 
for  returning  to  the  school,  depend  principally  upon  the  report  of 
the  school  inspector." 1 

1  Paper  read  at  annual  meeting  of  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society, 
June  9,  1897,  by  Dr.  Durgin. 


140       SCHOOL   SANITATION  AND   DECORATION 

According  to  this  system  inspectors  are  not  allowed 
to  give  professional  advice  or  treatment  in  any  case, 
with  one  exception,  and  great  care  is  necessary  to  avoid 
giving  offense  to  the  family  physician.  This  one  excep- 
tion is  in  connection  with  pediculosis,  which  was  found  to 
be  so  prevalent  throughout  the  schools,  existing  in  one 
instance  to  the  extent  of  nearly  80  per  cent  of  scholars 
in  one  building.  The  board  of  health  did  recommend 
an  economical  wash  or  remedy  for  this  trouble,  but  not 
without  some  friction  on  the  part  of  families  whose 
children  had  to  be  advised  to  use  it.  Obviously,  medi- 
cal inspection  requires  the  thoughtful  cooperation  of 
the  teachers,  and  a  generous  amount  of  tact  on  the  part 
of  the  inspectors. 

It  cannot  be  expected  that  the  teachers  will  be  phy- 
sicians. But  they  are  not  required  to  do  much  expert 
work.  It  is  a  comparatively  simple  matter  for  the 
teacher  to  recognize  an  "ailing"  pupil,  and  it  is  not  a 
matter  of  much  time  to  report  the  same  to  the  principal 
or  to  the  inspector,  as  the  rules  may  require. 

That  the  system  is  very  effective  may  be  shown  by 
the  following  figures  :  — 

For  the  fourteen  months  from  November  I,  1894,  to 
December  31,  1895,  in  Boston,  16,790  children  were 
reported  by  the  teachers  and  examined  by  the  medical 
inspectors.  Of  these,  6035,  about  36  per  cent,  were 
found  to  be  not  sick  ;  10,737,  the  other  64  per  cent,  were 
ill.  Of  these,  2041,  or  19  per  cent,  were  sick  enough  to 
be  sent  home.  About  22  per  cent  of  these  sick  ones 
were  sent  home,  or  2.7  per  cent  of  the  total  number 
examined  proved  to  be  cases  of  infectious  disease, 
specifically  as  follows  :  — 


SCHOOL  CHILDREN  141 

Diphtheria 77 

Scarlet  fever 28 

Measles       .         .         .        .        .        .        .116 

Chicken-pox 28 

Mumps 47 

Whooping  cough 33 

Pediculosis 69 

Scabies        .......  47 

Congenital  syphilis 8 

453 

In  1895,  8964  scholars  were  examined;  1156,  over 
12  per  cent,  were  sent  home ;  and  23  per  cent  of  those 
sent  home,  or  2.9  per  cent  of  those  examined,  were 
cases  of  infectious  disease. 

New  York  has  also  had  successful  experience  with  med- 
ical inspection.  The  board  of  health  there  started  out 
with  a  few  explanatory  lectures  to  the  inspectors,  giving 
them  an  outline  of  the  scope  and  purpose  of  the  work. 

As  outlined,  the  duty  of  each  school  inspector  is  to 
visit  his  round  of  schools  at  nine  o'clock  every  morning 
during  the  session.  Upon  assembling  in  the  morning 
every  child  who  appears  to  be  ill,  or  who  presents  him- 
self for  the  first  time  after  being  absent,  is  sent  to  a 
special  room  where  he  is  inspected.  If  found  attacked 
by  an  infectious  or  contagious  disease,  or  not  fully  re- 
covered from  one,  the  inspector  sends  him  home  with  a 
note  to  that  effect,  and  at  the  same  time  he  is  obliged 
to  inform  the  board  of  health  of  the  fact.  In  addition 
to  the  school  inspectors,  New  York  has  a  number  of 
physicians  whose  duty  it  is  to  examine  all  applicants 
for  teachers  in  the  public  schools.  New  York  City 
appropriates  $47,500  for  the  establishment  of  a  special 
corp  of  medica.1  inspectors. 


142       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

On  June  7,  1898,  the  Philadelphia  bureau  of  health 
passed  the  resolution  that  the  medical  inspector  be 
directed  to  have  the  fifteen  assistant  medical  inspec- 
tors visit  one  public  school  each  day  in  their  respec- 
tive districts,  and  inspect  each  school  according  to 
the  methods  employed  in  Boston,  New  York,  and 
Chicago. 

St.  Louis  availed  herself  of  an  opportunity  to  study 
the  system  by  having  a  volunteer  inspection  of  ten  of 
the  public  schools  made  under  the  auspices  of  the  Medi- 
cal Society  of  City  Hospital  Alumni,  from  October  10 
to  December  25,  1898.  The  inspections  were  made  by 
members  of  this  society.  In  that  sixty  days'  trial  nearly 
one-half  of  the  dismissals  were  due  to  cases  of  acute  in- 
fectious disease. 

In  Boston,  fifty  inspectors  are  employed  at  a  salary  of 
$200  each.  In  New  York,  one  hundred  and  forty-nine 
at  $300.  In  New  York,  however,  the  corporate,  private, 
and  parochial  schools  are  included  in  the  inspection,  and 
should  be  in  order  to  make  it  a  thorough  preventive 
measure. 

In  studying  the  reports  on  the  result  in  various  cities,  — 
Boston,  New  York,  Chicago,  and  St.  Louis,  —  it  is  found 
that  about  one  pupil  in  every  ten  has  some  ailment ; 
and  that  one-tenth,  sometimes  as  high  as  one-third  of 
those  sick,  should  be  sent  home,  either  because  they 
were  too  ill  to  be  in  school  themselves,  or  because  they 
endanger  the  health  of  others.  From  .3  to  .7  per  cent 
of  these  sent  home  have  been  suffering  from  some  form 
of  contagious  disease. 

Out  of  the  total  morbidity  in  Boston  schools,  more 
than  4  per  cent  in  1895  were  acute  infectious  diseases, 


SCHOOL  CHILDREN  143 

nearly  3  per  cent  in  1896,  and  nearly  6  per  cent  in  1897. 
In  New  York,  between  March  29  and  July  I,  1897,  over 
10  per  cent  of  those  sent  home  were  in  this  class;  that 
is,  they  were  menacing  other  pupils. 

The  experience  in  Chicago  would  indicate  that  if  the 
inspection  service  is  limited,  what  there  is  should  be 
applied  to  old  buildings,  for  in  them  the  larger  num- 
ber of  ill  pupils  always  have  been  found.  Chicago 
adopted  medical  inspection  about  two  years  later  than 
Boston,  and  the  health  commissioner  says,  in  regard  to 
its  results  there,  that  "  he  knows  of  no  other  single  line 
of  effort  in  which  his  scanty  force  of  inspectors  has  en- 
gaged that  has  been  of  more  obvious  and  direct  benefit 
to  the  community  in  general,  as  well  as  to  the  school 
children  themselves." 

The  examples  here  given  are  all  taken  from  the  large 
cities,  and  the  question  naturally  arises  :  Is  such  a  sys- 
tem feasible  in  the  small  cities  and  in  the  towns  ? 
There  have  been  various  expressions  of  opinion  with 
regard  to  this.  However,  if  we  take  one  of  the  school 
districts  in  a  large  city  like  Boston,  it  may  be  compared 
with  many  smaller  communities.  One  school  district 
in  Boston  has  four  schools  and  fourteen  hundred  pupils. 
It  should  not  be  a  matter  of  great  difficulty  to  secure  a 
competent  physician  in  such  a  community  who  would  be 
only  too  glad  to  have  the  salary  of  $200  or  thereabouts. 
It  has  been  claimed  that  in  the  country  districts  the  peo- 
ple are  too  conservative,  that  they  would  not  see  the 
good  of  such  a  system  to  the  community  as  a  whole, 
that  they  would  not  see  its  value  and  necessity.  But 
the  general  intelligence  of  the  country  people  has  grown 
and  broadened  in  late  years,  to  a  great  degree  through 


144       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

the  agency  of  the  press  and  periodicals,  and  there  should 
be  few  communities  not  ready  to  adopt  a  properly  planned 
medical  inspection. 

The  necessary  requisites  for  the  successful  establish- 
ment of  the  system  are  a  board  of  health  vested  with 
authority,  a  competent  inspector  endowed  with  tact  to 
handle  teachers,  parents,  and  children ;  wide  awake 
teachers  who  know  enough  of  the  principles  of  sanitary 
science  to  help  and  not  hinder  the  work  of  the  inspector ; 
and  an  intelligent  public  opinion  to  back  up  the  work  of 
the  board  of  health  and  its  agents. 

The  medical  inspection  of  school  children,  when  prop- 
erly conducted,  does  away  with  the  closing  of  schools  in 
times  of  epidemics,  and  must  be  regarded  as  the  most 
important  measure  for  preventing  disease  and  deformity, 
'and  for  checking  the  spread  of  contagious  diseases 
throughout  school  children. 

Medical  inspection  has  also  an  educational  side,  for  it 
serves  as  a  lesson  to  the  children  and  to  their  parents 
as  regards  what  great  care  is  necessary  in  handling  con- 
tagious diseases.  In  a  few  instances  parents  have  ob- 
jected to  the  inspection  of  their  children  at  the  school, 
claiming  that  it  was  interfering  with  their  parental  du- 
ties. But  as  a  rule  parents,  teachers,  school  boards, 
and  city  governments  unite  in  praising  the  system  it- 
self, and  expressing  great  gratification  at  the  results 
obtained. 

Boston,  after  two  and  a  half  years  of  experience  with 
it,  reports  that  the  plan  is  constantly  growing  in  favor 
with  the  medical  profession,  among  the  school  teachers, 
and  in  the  community  at  large. 

In  regard  to  the  educational  value  of  medical  inspec- 


SCHOOL   CHILDREN  145 

tion,  Superintendent  of  Schools,  W.  B.  Powell  of  Wash- 
ington, says : l  — 

"  The  most  important  argument  in  favor  of  medical  inspection  of 
schools  and  school  children  is  the  educational  benefit  it  would  be 
to  the  community  at  large.  Its  direct  and  naturally  aggressive  ten- 
dency would  be  to  make  knowledge  of  the  common  laws  of  health 
universal,  and  to  create  an  interest  in  the  study  of  social  life. 

"  Intelligence  respecting  the  effects  of  modes  of  living  on  length 
of  life,  on  happiness  of  life,  and  on  cost  of  living  is  very  meager,  es- 
pecially among  the  lower  classes  of  society.  The  school  has  reason 
to  know  and  to  understand  the  disadvantages  of  this  condition,  eco- 
nomically and  morally.  Knowledge  of  these  subjects  would  grow 
rapidly  if  the  school  would  take  hold  of  the  matter  purpositively, 
and  would  cause  people  to  begin  knowledge-getting  in  experience. 
Medical  inspection  would  result  in  giving  knowledge  of  conditions 
and  causes,  and  would  suggest  changes  in  modes  of  living  with  rea- 
sons for  the  same.  These  would  cause  thought  and  would  give  in- 
formation to  satisfy  the  same,  which,  with  the  purposive  effect  induced 
in  the  realization  of  suggestion,  would  educate  in  the  most  effectual 
way.  This  experience  would  create  interest  which  in  turn  would  in- 
sure further  knowledge-seeking  by  means  of  reading,  attending  lec- 
tures, by  inquiry,  and  in  many  cases  by  original  investigation  and 
experiment.  Is  it  not  the  duty  of  the  school  to  arouse  society  to  in- 
telligent thought  on  the  importance  of  better  modes  of  life?  By  no 
other  means  can  this  be  done  so  effectively.  Is  it  not  the  duty 
of  the  school  to  train  people  to  live  better?  Is  not  this  the  true  pur- 
pose of  the  school  ?  The  logical  place  to  begin  this  is  with  the 
physical  life  of  society,  the  one  phase  of  life  that  has  been  the  most 
ignored  by  our  educational  methods,  because  least  thought  about, 
and,  until  now,  least  understood." 

1  Proceedings  National  Educational  Association,  1898,  p.  459. 
L 


CHAPTER  X1 

INFLUENCE  OF  SCHOOL  LIFE  UPON  THE  EYE 

IN  order  to  understand  the  influence  of  school  life  on 
eyesight,  the  following  facts  relating  to  the  structure  of 
the  eye  are  important. 


FIG.  20.— VERTICAL  SECTION  OF  THE  EYEBALL. 

i,  Sclerotic;  2,  choroid;  3,  ciliary  muscle;  4,  cornea;  5,  iris;  6,  aqueous  hu- 
mor; 7,  lens;  8,  vitreous  humor;  9,  retina;  10,  optic  nerve. 

The  eye  is  enveloped  throughout  the  greater  part  of 
its  circumference  by  a  dense  white  coat  (the  sclerotic), 
the  transparent  and  more  convex  cornea  enveloping  the 
smaller  moiety  in  front.  (Fig.  20.)  Inside  the  sclerotic 
is  a  black  vascular  layer  (the  choroid),  which  serves  to 

1  This  chapter  has  been  but  slightly  modified  from  Arthur  Newsholme's 
"  School  Hygiene,"  published  by  D.  C.  Heath  &  Co. 

146 


INFLUENCE   UPON   THE   EYE  147 

absorb  the  excess  of  light,  and  within  this  is  spread 
out  the  delicate  mesh-work  of  the  retina,  which  receives 
impressions  of  light  and  conveys  them  to  the  brain. 
The  interior  of  the  eyeball  is  occupied  by  a  transparent 
gelatinous  material  in  its  posterior  part,  and  a  watery 
material  in  front,  between  which  lies  the  delicate  lens  of 
the  eye,  which  is  capable  of  being  altered  in  shape  by 
the  action  of  the  minute  ciliary  muscle.  (3,  Fig.  20.) 


FIG.  21. —  DIAGRAM  SHOWING  EFFECT  OF  A  BICONVEX  LENS  ON  RAYS 

OF  LIGHT. 

I,  Focus  of  parallel  rays ;  2,  focus  of  divergent  rays ;  3,  focus  of  divergent  rays 
brought  nearer  by  more  convex  lens. 

In  the  normal  eye  waves  of  light  coming  from  a  dis- 
tance are  refracted  by  the  passive  lens  and  media  of  the 
eye,  and  brought  to  a  focus  at  the  most  sensitive  part 
of  the  retina,  without  any  muscular  effort.  Thus,  vision 
6f  distant  objects  represents  rest  for  the  eyes,  and  ex- 
ertion of  its  muscles  comes  into  play  only  for  near  vision. 

The  divergent  waves  of  light  from  a  near  object  are 
brought  to  a  focus  on  the  retina  by  the  action  of  the 
ciliary  muscle,  which  renders  the  lens  more  convex,  and 
thus  capable  of  refracting  the  light  more  powerfully. 


148       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

The  effect  of  an  increased  convexity  of  lens  in  bringing 
divergent  waves  of  light  sooner  to  a  focus  is  shown  in 
Fig.  21.  If  for  any  distance  under  20  feet  the  eye  were 
not  able  thus  to  accommodate  its  condition,  a  blurred 
and  incomplete  image  would  be  formed  on  the  retina. 

A  child  with  normal  eyes  ought  to  be  able  to  read 
this  page,  in  a  good  light  at  the  distance  of  40  inches, 
and  at  all  intervening  distances  down  to  4  inches.  Any 
child  who  cannot  read  it  as  far  as  15  inches  off  should 
have  his  eyes  examined  by  a  competent  oculist.  A 
rough  test  may  be  also  made  by  means  of  the  following 


50  feet         40  feet        25  feet     20  feet    10  feet 
FIG.  22.  — EYE  TEST. 

letters  :  the  Z  should  be  distinguishable  at  a  distance 
of  50  feet,  D  at  a  distance  of  40  feet,  Y  at  25  feet,  H  at 
20  feet,  and  L  at  10  feet. 

Three  chief  defects  of  vision  occur  in  children :  in  the 
first,  the  waves  of  light  are  brought  to  a  focus  behind 
the  retina  (hypermetropia) ;  in  the  second,  the  waves  of 
light  are  brought  to  a  focus  in  front  of  the  retina  (myo- 
pia) ;  and  in  the  third,  the  different  axes  of  the  eyes  do 
not  bring  waves  of  light  to  a  focus  at  the  same  point 
(astigmatism). 

Hypermetropia  or  Long-sight,  in  which  the  eye  is 
shorter  from  back  to  front  than  usual,  is  really  in  a 


INFLUENCE  UPON   THE   EYE  149 

moderate  degree  a  normal  condition  in  childhood,  but  if 
present  in  a  high  degree  represents  an  arrest  of  devel- 
opment. Parallel  rays  of  light  (i.e.,  those  from  a  dis- 
tance) are  brought  to  a  focus  behind  the  retina.  (Fig. 
23.)  Thus,  when  the  eye  is  at  rest,  there  is  not  distinct 
vision  even  of  distant  objects  for  the  long-sighted.  The 
ciliary  muscles  must  always  act  and  accommodate  the 
eye,  and  in  moderate  degrees  they  succeed  in  conceal- 
ing the  condition.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  this  con- 
stant strain  on  the  muscles,  during  the  waking  hours, 


FIG.  23.  — SECTION  OF  HYPERMETROPIC  EYE. 

R,  the  origin  of  divergent  rays  of  light;  F,  the  focus  beyond  the  eyeball; 
LL,  convex  glass  to  be  worn  by  hypermetrope ;  F',  the  focus  of  rays  of  light 
on  retina,  showing  influence  of  L. 

must  be  injurious ;  and  during  the  use  of  the  eye  for 
near  vision,  as  in  reading  or  needlework,  the  strain  on 
the  ciliary  muscle  becomes  still  greater.  Consequently, 
congestion  and  redness,  with  watering  of  the  eyes,  result. 
The  lids  tend  to  stick  together  in  the  morning,  owing 
to  increased  secretion.  If  close  work  is  insisted  on,  in 
severe  cases  dizziness  and  total  inability  to  distinguish 
letters  are  produced,  and,  in  some  cases,  nausea,  or 
even  vomiting.  The  child  is  worse  in  the  morning 
than  in  the  evening,  as  his  ciliary  muscles  have  to  ad- 
just themselves  to  the  strain  imposed  on  them.  Mis- 


150       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

takes  are  frequently  made,  and  the  child  is  often  thought 
to  be  idle.  In  this,  as  in  other  abnormal  conditions  of 
the  eye,  it  is  very  common  for  the  child  to  have  been 
repeatedly  punished  by  his  teachers  for  supposed  ob- 
stinacy or  stupidity. 

Long-sight  is  often  confused  with  short-sight,  because, 
in  the  former,  as  in  the  latter,  the  child  gradually  holds 
his  book  nearer  and  nearer  to  his  eyes.  This  is  because 
spasm  of  the  ciliary  muscle  (causing  accommodation 
beyond  the  necessities  of  the  case)  is  produced  by  the 
effort  to  see  small  objects  at  moderate  distances,  and 
because  the  large  size  of  the  image  of  the  print  obtained 
by  holding  the  book  nearer  partially  compensates  for  its 
imperfect  definition. 

In  the  effort  at  accommodating  long-sighted  eyes  for 
near  and  small  objects,  those  external  muscles  of  the 
eyeballs  which  turn  them  in  towards  the  nose  are 
brought  into  excessive  action.  A  convergent  squint 
may  be  thus  produced,  at  first  occasional,  afterward 
becoming  constant,  and  one  eye  being  usually  worse 
than  the  other.  The  squint  is  worse  when  the  child  is 
tired  or  ill,  but  any  squint  in  a  child  four  to  seven  years 
old  should  receive  immediate  attention. 

Myopia  or  Short-sight  is  the  exact  opposite  of  the  last 
condition,  the  eye  from  front  to  back  being  too  long, 
so  that  waves  of  light  from  a  distance  are  brought 
to  a  focus  in  front  of  the  retina.  In  order  that  they 
may  be  focussed  on  the  retina,  the  affected  child  finds 
it  necessary  to  hold  objects  near  his  eye,  thus  making 
the  waves  of  light  more  divergent. 

Myopia  is  distinguished  from  hypermetropia  by  the 
fact  that  distant  vision  is  improved  by  a  concave  lens, 


INFLUENCE   UPON  THE   EYE  151 

and  by  the  fact  that  the  smallest  type  can  be  read  easily, 
provided  it  be  held  closely  to  the  eyes.  The  fact  of  a 
person  seeing  equally  as  well,  at  a  distance,  through  a 
convex  lens,  as  without,  certainly  indicates  hyperme- 
tropia. 

Myopia  is  essentially  due  to  the  soft  and  yielding 
character  of  the  tunic  of  some  children's  eyes,  enabling 
the  pressure  of  the  muscles  during  accommodation  to 
elongate  the  globe.  The  condition  when  started  may 
remain  stationary,  but  in  some  cases  the  continuance  of 


FIG.  24.  —  SECTION  OF  MYOPIC  EYE. 

R,  the  origin  of  divergent  waves  of  light ;  F,  the  focus  of  these  in  front  of  retina ; 
LL,  concave  lens  to  be  worn  by  myope ;  F',  focus  of  waves  of  light  on  retina, 
showing  influence  of  L. 

the  cause  increases  the  elongation  of  the  globe.  This 
may  be  followed  by  stretching  and  atrophy  of  the  cho- 
roid,  or  even  detachment  of  the  retina,  and  other  evil 
consequences,  resulting  in  partial  or  complete  destruc- 
tion of  vision. 

The  tendency  to  short-sight  is  generally  strongly 
hereditary,  but  it  may  be  acquired,  and  it  is  chiefly  dur- 
ing school  life  that  this  occurs.  Jager,  in  1861,  first 
called  attention  to  the  remarkable  development  of  myopia 
during  school  life.  Dr.  Cohn,  of  Breslau,  in  1865  took 
up  the  subject.  Having  examined  the  eyes  of  10,060 


152       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

children,  he  found  1072  myopic,  239  hypermetropic,  23 
astigmatic,  and  396  whose  vision  was  impaired  from  the 
effects  of  previous  disease.  As  his  testing  was  by  lenses 
only,  he  probably  underrated  the  myopia.  In  elemen- 
tary village  schools  he  found  1.4  per  cent  of  myopia ;  in 
town  elementary  schools,  6.7  per  cent ;  in  intermediate 
schools,  10.3  per  cent;  high  schools,  19.7;  and  in  gym- 
nasia, 26.2  per  cent.  Among  medical  students  he  found 
the  proportion  in  the  first  year  of  study  52  per  cent, 
in  the  last  year  64  per  cent.  At  Tubingen,  Gartner 
found  that  of  600  theological  students,  79  per  cent  were 
myopic. 

Although  Germany  has  until  lately  had  the  greatest 
prevalence  of  defects  of  vision,  it  has  by  no  means  a 
monopoly  of  them.  In  all  the  cases  investigated,  the 
fact  comes  out  that  the  youngest  classes  have  the  fewest 
myopics,  and  the  oldest  most.  Drs.  E.  G.  Loring  and 
R.  H.  Derby,  of  New  York,  found  that  in  the  lowest 
classes  3.5  and  in  the  highest  26.78  per  cent  were 
myopic. 

The  statistics  furnished  by  the  Philadelphia  Com- 
mittee, of  which  Dr.  Risley  was  chairman,  are  peculiarly 
valuable,  as  a  complete  examination  of  the  eye  (barring 
the  use  of  Atropine)  was  made  in  each  case.  Twenty- 
four  hundred  and  twenty-two  eyes  were  examined  by 
the  committee,  and  174  afterward  by  Dr.  Jackson,  of 
West  Chester,  on  the  same  plan,  each  case  requiring 
on  an  average  twenty-eight  minutes'  examination. 

The  accompanying  chart,  from  Mr.  B.  Carter's  pam- 
phlet on  "  Eyesight  in  Schools,"  shows  the  result.  (Fig. 
25.)  The  horizontal  lines  give  the  percentages,  the 
vertical  lines  the  different  classes.  The  myopia  was 


INFLUENCE   UPON   THE   EYE 


153 


found  to  increase  from  4.27  per  cent  in  primary  classes 
(average  age,  8£  years)  to  19.33  per  cent  in  normal 
classes,  while  the  hypermetropia  diminished  from  88. 1 1 
per  cent  to  66.84  per  cent,  the  proportion  of  normal 


H.,  66.84. 


M.,  19.33. 
E.,  12.23. 


Normal  vision  or 
Emmetropia,  7.10% 
Myopia,  4.27  % 

Average  Age 


8.5       1 1.5        14       17.5 


Pri-  Secon-  Gram-  Nor- 
mary  dary.  mar.  mal. 
School. 


FIG.  25.  — CHART  SHOWING  PREVALENCE  OF  NEAR-SIGHT,  FAR-SIGHT, 
AND  NORMAL  VISION  AT  DIFFERENT  AGES. 

vision  (emmetropia)  remaining  nearly  stationary.  It 
is  evident,  from  the  statistics  just  advanced,  that  school 
life  has,  under  conditions  which  commonly  prevail,  a 
most  deleterious  influence  on  eyesight. 


154       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

Astigmatism  is  a  condition  of  the  eyes  in  which  the 
curvature  of  the  cornea  is  not  uniform,  and  consequently 
waves  of  light  passing  through  it  in  different  meridians 
have  a  different  focus.  The  lines  running  in  a  given 
direction  look  blurred  —  as  all  the  horizontal  or  all  the 
upright,  etc.  Children  suffering  from  this  condition 
often  appear  stupid  or  inattentive,  because  there  is  in 
this  defect  what  has  been  aptly  called  "  slow  sight "  ; 
a  word  is  not  recognized  quickly  on  first  sight,  but  "  it 
seems  to  come  to  them  afterward."  The  defect  is 
commonly  ascribed  to  near-sightedness,  but  ordinary 
convex  lenses  will  not  remedy  it ;  lenses,  the  curve  of 
which  is  specially  adapted  to  each  meridian  of  the  eye, 
being  required. 

The  causes  at  work  during  school  life  which  tend  to 
produce  defects  of  vision  may  be  classed  under  the  five 
following  heads :  — 

(i)  The  prolonged  exertion  of  the  eyes  involved  in 
seeing  near  objects.  School  work  usually  lasts  from  four 
to  six  hours,  and  the  home  lessons  sometimes  nearly  as 
long.  During  a  great  part  of  this  time,  the  accommodat- 
ing apparatus  of  the  child's  eyes  is  being  strained ;  the 
tissues  of  the  eyes  being  soft  and  compressible,  evil 
results  are  apt  to  occur,  especially  when  there  is  a 
hereditary  tendency  to  defects  of  vision.  Three  hours' 
good  work  is  always  better  than  five  hours  of  indifferent 
work. 

The  posture  of  the  scholar  is  very  important.  He 
should  not  be  allowed  to  lean  forward  with  a  bent  head. 
In  writing  we  have  a  good  instance  of  the  principles 
involved  and  the  practice  to  be  followed.  The  move- 
ments required  are  of  a  complicated  character,  and,  like 


INFLUENCE  UPON   THE   EYE  155 

the  complicated  movements  concerned  in  speech  and 
walking,  should  be  automatically  performed.  In  fact, 
the  more  automatic  and  the  less  conscious  the  move- 
ments become,  the  greater  is  the  degree  of  precision 
attained.  Hence,  as  in  piano-playing,  where  the  pupil 
is  required  to  look  at  the  music  and  not  at  the  keys,  the 
pupil  who  is  writing  should  be  required  to  sit  erect,  and 
directly  facing  the  desk,  and  should  fix  his  attention  on 
the  matter  to  be  written,  rather  than  on  the  move- 
ments of  the  fingers.  The  desk  should  be  at  a  proper 
angle  to  the  eyes,  and  the  eyes  should  not  be  allowed 
to  come  nearer  than  12  inches  from  the  book  or 
slate. 

(2)  An  inadequate  amount  of  light,  or  an  ill-directed 
light,  causes  an  undue  strain  on  the  eyes.     The  amount 
of  window  area  required,  and  the  direction  of  the  light 
admitted,  have  been  already  discussed.     It  is  probable 
that  the  preparation  of  home  lessons  in  semi-darkness 
is  responsible  for  much  injury  to  the  eyes. 

Cohn,  in  his  investigations,  found  that  the  narrower 
the  street  in  which  the  school  stood,  the  higher  the 
opposite  houses,  and  the  lower  the  story  in  which  les- 
sons were  given,  the  greater  the  number  of  cases  of 
myopia  among  elementary  scholars.  He  proposed  that 
30  square  inches  of  glass  (not  including  the  window 
frames)  should  be  allowed  for  every  square  foot  of  floor 
area. 

(3)  Badly  printed  text  and  other  books  produce  the 
same  result.     The  type  should  be  clear  and  large,  Roman 
being  much  better  than  Gothic  type.     The  construction 
of  such  letters  as  h  and  b,  v  and  n  should  be  especially 
precise. 


156       SCHOOL    SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

The  following  words  represent  well-known  sizes  of 
type : — 

Double  Pica.  Great  Primer.  Pica. 

No  type     smaller  than    Pica  should 

Small  Pica.        Bourgeois.          Minion.         Pearl.         Diamond. 

be   USed  while  teaching  children  to  read. 

Cohn  proposes  that  the  type  of  ordinary  journals 
should  be  4  millimeters  or  \  inch  in  height,  though  M. 
Javal  thinks  it  may  be  allowed  to  be  2  millimeters.  The 
thickness  of  down  and  up  strokes,  the  spaces  between 
letters  and  words  and  between  lines,  and  the  length  of 
lines  all  require  attention. 

Letter-press  derived  from  a  worn-out  fount  gives  an 
imperfect  impression  of  the  letters.  The  loops  of  a  and 
e,  of  b  dp  g  are  apt  to  form  a  black  spot ;  long  letters 
become  broken,  and  fine  up  strokes  are  imperceptible. 

Books  for  children  should  not  be  too  large  and  heavy, 
the  spaces  between  the  letters  and  between  words  and 
lines  should  be  relatively  wide,  and  the  lines  not  too 
long.  The  reading  or  writing  book  should  be  placed  at 
a  distance  of  12  to  15  inches  from  the  eyes.  The  most 
agreeable  tint  of  paper  is  a  cream-color  or  a  pale  blue. 
It  is  inadvisable  to  gloss  the  sheets,  as  this  produces  a 
dazzling  reflection. 

It  is  important  that  too  small  a  handwriting  should 
not  be  allowed,  and  that  neither  writing  nor  reading 
should  be  permitted  in  the  dim  light  of  evening. 

Pale  ink  and  greasy  slates  are  very  trying  to  the  eyes. 

The  letters  on  many  maps  in  schools  are  most  trying 
to  the  eyes,  the  lettering  not  only  being  fine,  but  the 


INFLUENCE   UPON   THE   EYE  157 

maps  having  often  been  printed  from  old  and  worn 
plates.  Maps  should  contain  as  few  data  as  possible, 
teaching  by  wall-maps  and  outline  maps  being  prefer- 
able. Glazed  maps  are  not  advisable.  In  writing  les- 
sons the  character  of  the  writing  material  used  is  of 
some  importance,  especially  on  dull,  winter  days.  Thus 
the  furthest  distance  at  which  a  specimen  of  slate  pencil 
writing  was  recognizable,  as  compared  with  a  specimen 
of  lead  pencil  writing  of  the  same  size,  was  as  7  to  8, 
while  the  ratio  of  lead  pencil  to  pen  and  ink  legibility 
was  7  to  8,  and  of  slate  writing  to  pen  and  ink  3  to  4. 
The  bearing  of  this  on  the  hygiene  of  the  eye  is  evi- 
dent ;  pen  and  ink  writing  should  be  used  where  possi- 
ble. Also  pale  ink,  or  ink  which  turns  black  only  after 
a  time,  should  be  abolished  from  school. 

(4)  Needlework  is  a  too  frequent  cause  of  defective 
vision  in  girls.  Sewing  is  more  trying  to  the  eyes  than 
any  work  that  boys  have  to  do.  In  ordinary  coarse 
calico  there  are  about  70  threads  to  an  inch,  and  what 
is  considered  good  work  consists  in  taking  up  4  threads, 
2  in  front  and  2  behind  the  cotton  ;  while  in  moderately 
fine  linen,  as  a  shirt-front,  there  are  120  threads  to  an 
inch,  so  that  the  seamstress  has  to  work  to  -fa  inch,  a 
much  smaller  distance  than  the  finest  print. 

The  sewing  required  of  children  should  be  neat  and 
accurate,  but  not  too  fine,  and  sewing  should  not  be 
prolonged,  nor  undertaken  in  a  bad  light.  Where  pos- 
sible, the  light  should  come  from  above  for  needlework, 
as  for  drawing  lessons,  and  such  lessons  should  be 
avoided  by  gaslight.  Needlework  and  drawing  and 
writing  lessons  should  always,  preferably,  be  given  dur- 
ing the  brightest  hours  of  the  day.  Lace  work  taxes 


158       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

the  eyes  severely  and  may  lead  to  absolute  loss  of 
vision.  Working  at  night  on  black  dresses  is  most 
injurious.  Scarlet  materials  are  somewhat  trying  to 
the  eyes,  and  are  not  allowed  under  the  London  School 
Board  ;  blue  is  to  be  preferred. 

(5)  The  condition  of  the  general  health  produced  by 
insufficient  exercise  or  food,  and  the  influence  of  a 
vitiated  atmosphere,  powerfully  favor  the  production  of 
defective  vision.  So,  likewise,  does  the  occurrence  of 
catarrhal  or  other  affections  of  the  eye,  as  after  measles, 
diphtheria,  and  scarlet  fever.  Home  study  for  the  chil- 
dren under  the  age  of  fourteen  should  be  forbidden  as 
far  as  possible. 

It  is  not  always  the  school  that  is  responsible  for  de- 
fects in  children's  eyes.  Much  reading  at  home  under 
unfavorable  conditions  is  a  factor  that  must  be  taken 
into  account.  The  child  may  become  buried  in  a  book, 
as  the  expression  is,  and  not  think  of  light,  position, 
or  of  anything  but  what  he  is  reading.  Many  eyes  are 
unnecessarily  strained  in  this  way,  and  a  careful 
watch  by  the  parents  is  essential  to  guard  against  the 
injury.  Often  a  boy  or  girl  will  curl  up  in  front  of  an 
open  fire  to  keep  warm  and  read  by  the  firelight. 


From  painting  by  Guido  Reni.     1575-1642 


Suitab:'-  for  intermediate  grades. 

F.ffecti.e  nt  almost  air, 
full  of  life  and  movement ;  lx-  aitiful 
in  composition  and  in 


158       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

the  eyes   sev  *  1   may  lead   to   absolute   loss  of 

vision.     Work  it   on  black   dresses   is  most 

injurious.     S,  i  ils   are  somewhat  trying  to 

the  eyes,  and  wed  under  the  London  School 

Board  ;  blue  ii.  ;'red. 

(5)  The  conditi  . -ncral  health  produced  by 

insw:  and   the   influence   of  a 

vitia;  re,  powe;  lolly  favor  the  production  of 

li  oes  the  occurrence  of 

eye,  as  after  measles, 
.  ;nc  study  for  the  chil- 

dren under  the  «.  irteen  should  be  forbidden  as 

far  as  possible. 

It  is  not  always  the  scASKWllUsAresponsible  for  de- 
fects in  children's  eyes.     Much  reading  at  home  under 
unfavorafl^cSRH     •I£?3^  ohuj°  ^d  8"^^  «*°^ 
into  account.     Tr  'L>ook, 

as  the  expression  is,  and  of  light,  position, 

or  of  anything  but  what  he  is  reading.  Many  eyes  are 
unnecessarily  strained  in  this  way,  and  a  careful 
watch  by  the  parents  is  essential  to  guard  against  the 
injury.  <  boy  or  girl  will  curl  up  in  front  of  an 

open  fire  to  keep  warm  and  read  by  the  firelight. 


\  Jnamavom  bn£  alii  lo  llui 
.§niwxnb  ni  bns  ^oi}i^oqrrIO^  ni 


CHAPTER  XI 

SCHOOL  AUTHORITIES  AND  PATRONS 

IT  is  the  duty  of  all  cities  and  towns  to  keep  their 
schools  in  a  sanitary  condition.  The  schools  are  their 
property  and  are  for  the  purpose  of  training  the  younger 
generations  to  become  wise  and  efficient  citizens.  The 
governmental  body  should  be  so  divided  as  to  make  it 
impossible  for  one  department  to  shift  the  responsibility 
on  to  another.  It  should  be  so  arranged  that  some  one 
department  be  wholly  responsible  for  the  sanitary  con- 
dition of  the  schools.  At  present  it  is  impossible  to 
obtain  legal  redress  for  injuries  received  during  school 
life,  or  for  deaths  of  school  children  caused  by  munici- 
pal or  departmental  neglect.  If  a  city  permits  its 
streets  to  get  out  of  repair  sufficiently  to  endanger  the 
lives  of  citizens  using  them,  it  makes  itself  liable  for 
damages  for  injuries  sustained.  Not  so  with  the  schools. 
No  matter  how  many  epidemics  start  in  or  spread  from 
them,  nor  how  many  children  die  from  this  great 
criminal  negligence,  there  is  no  redress.  But  perhaps 
this  is  taking  too  dark  a  view  of  the  whole  matter,  be- 
cause there  are  many  examples  of  cities  that  are  making 
strenuous  efforts  to  bring  about  a  more  healthful  state 
of  affairs  in  their  public  schools.  They  are  attempting 
to  renovate  old  buildings,  putting  in  new  systems  of 
heating  and  ventilating.  They  are  establishing  systems 
of  sanitary  and  medical  inspection. 


160       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

They  are  attempting  to  make  all  of  their  new  build- 
ings fulfill  the  requirements  for  the  best  sanitary  condi- 
tions, and  they  take  much  pride  in  displaying  these 
new  buildings,  and  rightly  so.  For  properly  constructed 
schools  are  quite  modern  affairs.  Any  board  of  trus- 
tees, or  any  city  government  that  has  such,  deserves  to 
be  highly  praised.  The  age  is  passed,  however,  when 
fine  schools  may  be  looked  upon  as  a  luxury.  They  are 
a  necessity.  They  cost  money,  but  money  put  into 
good  schools  is  well  spent.  It  is  false  economy  to 
withhold  money  needed  to  secure  hygienic  school  build- 
ings. The  red  tape  and  wrangle  often  necessary  to 
obtain  even  small  amounts  of  money  for  schools  and 
school  improvements  is  shameful.  To  show  how  diffi- 
cult it  is  to  get  small  appropriations  for  such  purposes, 
it  is  well  worth  while  to  give  attention  to  an  extract 
from  the  proceedings  of  a  school-board  meeting  in  one 
of  our  large  cities  in  1898  :  — 

Regarding  improved   heating,    etc.,  in school  district,  the 

committee  reported  that  the  work,  in  view  of  the  limited  appropria- 
tions, should  be  deferred  for  the  present. 

Dr.  hoped  that  this  would  not  be  voted.      He  stated  that 

in Street  Schoolhouse,  in  that  district,  the  sanitary  condition 

is  deplorable.  The  plumbing  of  one  of  the  sinks,  he  went  on  to 
say,  was  disconnected  last  winter,  and  the  pipe  has  remained  open 
up  to  the  present  time.  The  closets  are  directly  under  one  of  the 
schoolrooms,  and  the  foul  odors  come  into  the  rooms.  A  teacher 
has  been  advised  by  her  physician  not  to  go  there  this  fall  on  the 
beginning  of  the  school,  unless  something  is  done  to  remedy  this 

evil.     Dr. asked  that  at  least  $25  be  appropriated  to  connect 

that  plumbing.     A  peppermint  test,  he  said,  has  been  made  show- 
ing that  sewer  gases  have  free  access  to  the  basement  where  the 
children  play.     This  condition  he  characterized  as  an  outrage. 
Mr. stated  that  if  the  matter  was  left  to  the  committee,  it 


SCHOOL  AUTHORITIES   AND   PATRONS  l6l 

would  do  all  possible  to  connect  the  plumbing.  "  We  cannot  do 
things  without  money,"  he  said,  "  and  we  have  to  pick  out  those 
things  that  are  absolutely  necessary.  We  know  that  the  plumbing 
in  many  of  the  schoolhouses  is  not  what  it  should  be.  Bills  left 
over  from  last  year  have  to  be  paid,  and  we  have  only  money  enough 
to  keep  the  schoolhouses  wind  and  water  tight." 

The  report  was  accepted,  and  the  recommendation 
that  the  work  be  deferred  was  adopted. 

This  extract  was  used  by  Mrs.  Ellen  H.  Richards  in 
a  paper  before  the  American  Public  Health  Association, 
in  1898,  to  illustrate  this  same  point,  viz.,  the  deplorable 
fact  that  school  boards  are  not  allowed  sufficient  money 
properly  to  carry  on  school  work.  One  of  the  greatest 
causes  of  this  difficulty  is  the  general  lack  of  knowledge 
of  the  first  principles  of  preventive  medicine.  One  of 
the  strongest  proofs  that  we  could  wish  to  have  of  this 
was  shown  during  the  late  war  with  Spain,  where  the 
soldiers,  officers,  and  in  many  instances  the  medical  men 
themselves,  gave  evidence  of  their  great  ignorance  on 
such  important  matters.  The  result  there  we  know  was 
disastrous,  if  we  measure  it  by  the  amount  of  sickness  and 
death  caused  by  preventable  disease.  As  Mrs.  Richards 
says,  in  the  paper  referred  to  above,  "  Why  should 
the  men  on  the  transports  have  taken  care  to  keep  the 
decks  clean  when  they  have  been  accustomed  all  their 
lives  to  dirty  schoolroom  floors,  dirty  school  yards,  streets 
littered  with  rubbish,"  and  "  Why  should  our  soldiers 
have  believed  that  it  made  any  difference  what  water 
they  drank,  when  they  had  been  accustomed  to  the 
conditions  prevalent  in  nine-tenths  of  the  school  yards 
in  this  country." 

It  is  evident  that  school  boards  and  city  governments 


1 62       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND    DECORATION 

hold  exceedingly  responsible  positions  relative  to  the 
schools,  whether  this  responsibility  be  legal  or  not. 
The  public  schools  are  established  by  the  various  states 
in  order  to  insure  their  own  stability  and  prosperity, 
as  President  Garfield  said  in  his  inaugural  address  in 
March,  1881  :  "We  have  no  standard  by  which  to  meas- 
ure the  disaster  that  may  be  brought  upon  us  by  igno- 
rance and  vice  in  the  citizen,  when  joined  to  corruption 
and  fault  in  the  suffrage.  The  veterans  of  the  Union 
who  make  and  unmake  constitutions,  and  upon  whose 
will  hangs  the  destinies  of  our  government,  can  trans- 
mit their  supreme  authority  to  no  successors  save  the 
coming  generations  of  veterans,  who  are  the  sole  heirs 
of  sovereign  power.  If  that  generation  comes  to  its 
inheritance  blinded  by  ignorance  and  corrupted  by 
vice,  the  fall  of  the  republic  is  certain  and  remediless." 
While  the  states  insist  on  universal  compulsory  edu- 
cation, they  should  feel  a  certain  responsibility  about 
compelling  any  exposure  of  their  proteges  to  unneces- 
sary danger  of  physical  injury.  This  responsibility  of 
the  public  authorities  should  begin  before  the  school 
has  been  constructed  at  all.  It  is  their  duty  to  consult 
competent  experts  in  regard  to  the  location  of  the  school 
site,  the  construction  of  the  building,  its  heating  and 
ventilating,  and  any  other  features  that  would  tend  to 
influence  the  health  of  the  teachers  and  children.  It 
not  uncommonly  happens  that  these  public  authorities 
make  mistakes,  and  then  they  call  upon  some  one,  per- 
haps the  State  Board  of  Health,  to  remedy  them ; 
whereas  if  this  board  had  been  consulted  in  the  first 
place,  it  would  have  prevented  such  mistakes,  and  in 
the  end  would  have  saved  the  local  authorities  consider- 


SCHOOL  AUTHORITIES  AND  PATRONS      163 

able  expense.  Their  responsibility  should  also  include 
the  establishment  of  proper  systems  of  sanitary  and 
medical  inspection ;  the  former  to  insure  the  proper 
care  and  condition  of  the  buildings,  and  the  latter  the 
better  health  of  the  teachers  and  scholars. 

The  discussion  of  the  responsibility  of  the  teachers 
from  the  sanitary  standpoint  is  a  very  difficult  matter. 
Most  public  school-teachers  work  very  hard,  many  of 
them  overwork,  and  when  we  come  to  consider  their 
duties  toward  the  sanitary  conduct  of  their  school  build- 
ings or  schoolrooms,  we  may  be  expecting  them  to  do 
things  which,  had  they  the  inclination,  they  have 
neither  time  nor  opportunity  to  carry  out.  It  cannot 
be  expected  that  school-teachers  are  expert  sanitarians 
or  physicians,  but  we  can  expect  something  in  the 
matters  of  ordinary  cleanliness  and  neatness.  They 
should  have  pride  in  the  appearance  of  their  rooms, 
and  most  of  them  do.  Further  than  that,  it  is  possible 
for  them  to  inspire  this  interest  and  pride  in  the  pupils, 
making  them  vie  with  one  another  as  to  personal  clean- 
liness and  the  tidiness  of  their  desks.  If  the  younger 
children  cannot  understand  the  hygienic  importance  of 
good  air,  much  sunlight,  and  proper  temperature,  they 
can  be  interested  in  these  matters  to  a  large  degree  by 
enthusiastic  teachers.  For  example,  the  teacher  can 
have  even  the  young  pupils  learn  to  read  the  thermom- 
eter, and  make  a  record  on  the  blackboard  or  on  paper 
at  stated  periods  — perhaps  once  every  half-hour.  They 
could  also  be  taught  to  watch  for  the  sunlight ;  count- 
ing the  number  of  hours  in  the  day  or  the  week  or  the 
month  in  which  the  sun  has  shone  during  the  school 
hours.  Many  other  features  of  this  kind  can  be  arranged 


164       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

by  the  enthusiastic  teachers,  and  without  interfering 
materially  with  the  regular  class  work.  Little  matters 
like  these  would  in  a  short  time  spread  their  influence 
outside  of  the  school  and  reach  the  homes  of  the  pupils, 
which  in  many  cases,  particularly  in  the  large  cities, 
would  be  greatly  benefited  by  even  the  smallest  atten- 
tion to  proper  ventilation  and  admission  of  sunlight  and 
habits  of  cleanliness. 

In  regard  to  regular  instruction  in  sanitary  science, 
opinions  differ  as  to  the  wisdom  of  introducing  this  — 
even  when  reduced  to  its  lowest  terms  —  into  any  but 
the  higher  grades  of  the  public  schools.  Yet  it  would 
seem  possible  that  by  the  proper  arrangement,  insti- 
gated by  the  State  Board  of  Health  or  some  other  good 
authority,  leaflets  of  instruction  might  be  distributed  to 
the  teachers,  differently  arranged  for  different  grades, 
in  which  some  of  the  important  facts  regarding  health 
and  disease,  the  care  of  the  body,  its  various  organs, 
and  so  on,  might  be  set  forth.  This  would  seem  a 
very  important  matter,  and  one  that  deserves  consid- 
erable attention  in  the  near  future,  not  only  on  the 
part  of  the  teachers,  but  also  of  the  school  managers, 
because,  as  we  have  seen,  so  many  of  our  public  school 
pupils  are  launched  into  life  without  the  simplest  rudi- 
ments of  the  principles  of  preventive  medicine.  The  ex- 
ample of  our  soldiers  in  the  late  war  proves  this  only  too 
plainly,  and  emphasizes  the  fact  that  there  is  a  wide- 
spread need  for  instruction  of  some  kind,  wherever  it 
may  seem  best  to  place  it,  in  the  school  curriculum. 

In  Brussels,  all  teachers  receive  thorough  instruction 
in  hygiene.  They  are  supposed  to  supervise  its  prac- 
tice in  the  schools,  the  doctor  only  controlling  and 


SCHOOL  AUTHORITIES   AND   PATRONS  165 

directing  them.  They  are  required  to  record  on  a 
chart  the  temperature  of  each  room  four  times  a  day, 
—  at  8.30  and  11  A.M.,  and  2  and  3.30  P.M.  This  chart 
is  hung  up  beside  the  thermometer,  and  at  each  in- 
spection the  doctor  is  supposed  to  examine  it. 

In  the  United  States,  Michigan  has  taken  perhaps 
the  most  radical  steps  toward  educating  her  children 
in  sanitary  matters  by  passing  the  following  law :  — 

ACT  No.  146.    MICHIGAN,  LAWS  OF  1895. 

An  act  to  provide  for  teaching  in  the  public  schools  the  modes  by 
which  the  dangerous  communicable  diseases  are  spread,  and  the 
best  methods  for  the  restriction  and  prevention  of  such  diseases. 

SECTION  i.  The  People  of  the  State  of  Michigan  enact,  That 
there  shall  be  taught  in  every  year  in  every  public  school  in  Michi- 
gan the  principal  modes  by  which  each  of  the  dangerous  communi- 
cable diseases  is  spread,  and  the  best  methods  for  the  restriction 
and  prevention  of  such  disease.  The  State  Board  of  Health  shall 
annually  send  to  the  public  school  superintendents  and  teachers 
throughout  this  State,  printed  data  and  statements  which  shall 
enable  them  to  comply  with  this  act.  School  boards  are  hereby 
required  to  direct  such  superintendents  and  teachers  to  give  oral 
and  blackboard  instruction,  using  the  data  and  statements  supplied 
by  the  State  Board  of  Health. 

SECTION  2.  Neglect  or  refusal  on  the  part  of  any  superintendent 
or  teacher  to  comply  with  this  law,  shall  be  considered  a  sufficient 
cause  for  dismissal  from  the  school  by  the  school  board.  Any 
school  board  wilfully  neglecting  or  refusing  to  comply  with  any  of 
the  provisions  of  this  act,  shall  be  subject  to  fine  or  forfeiture,  the 
same  as  for  the  neglect  of  any  other  duty  pertaining  to  their  office. 
This  act  shall  apply  to  all  schools  in  this  State,  including  schools  in 
cities  or  villages  whether  incorporated  under  special  charter  or  under 
the  general  laws. 

In  compliance  with  this  act,  the  State  Board  of 
Health  has  issued  valuable  printed  matter  from  time  to 


1 66       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

time,  and  during  the  last  two  years  has  been  issuing 
Teacher's  Sanitary  Bulletins,  and  distributing  them  to 
every  school-teacher  in  the  state.  Thus  the  teachers 
can  inform  themselves,  in  fact  must  inform  themselves, 
as  to  how  to  instruct  the  children.  The  good  effects 
of  such  careful  dissemination  of  knowledge  cannot  but 
be  felt  throughout  the  state,  in  reduced  death  rates  and 
the  greater  intelligence  of  the  citizens. 

The  interest  of  parents  in  the  schools,  particularly 
in  their  sanitary  affairs,  is  too  often  lacking.  Few  par- 
ents know  personally  the  teachers  of  their  own  children, 
except  in  smaller  towns  where  the  teacher  is  one  of  the 
social  community.  Fewer  parents  probably  know  the 
superintendent  of  schools  unless  they  happen  to  meet 
him  socially.  This  is  a  very  important  matter,  for 
parents  should  make  an  effort,  unless  sickness  or  some 
other  circumstance  prevents,  to  become  personally  ac- 
quainted with  the  teachers  and  superintendent.  This 
does  not  mean  that  the  parents  should  keep  nagging 
the  teachers  about  petty  troubles,  nor  that  they  should 
carry  imagined  faults  in  the  conduct  of  the  school  to 
the  superintendent ;  but  it  does  mean  that  they  should 
confer  with  the  teacher  in  regard  to  the  strong  or  the 
weak  points  of  their  children.  Thus,  in  many  cases, 
they  would  help  the  teacher  to  understand  the  child. 
They  should  talk  with  the  teacher  regarding  the  health 
of  the  child,  the  strength  or  weakness  of  the  eyes,  the 
tendency  to  stand  or  sit  in  bad  postures  in  the  home, 
and  ask  the  teacher  to  help  to  remedy  these  faults. 
Cooperation  in  these  matters  will  be  a  great  assistance 
to  the  teacher  in  conducting  the  school,  and  also  bring 
about  better  results  in  the  children. 


SCHOOL   AUTHORITIES   AND    PATRONS  167 

It  is  well  known  that  in  many  instances  parents  hold 
themselves  aloof  from  teachers ;  but  in  these  modern 
times  this  seems  wholly  unreasonable.  Their  work  is 
a  noble  one,  and  in  many  instances  they  are  sacrificing 
their  health  for  the  good  of  the  community,  and  doing 
so  on  small  pay.  There  should  be  no  barrier  between 
the  home  and  the  school.  In  taking  into  account  the 
education  of  the  child  as  a  whole,  we  must  regard  the 
school  as  simply  completing  and  enforcing  the  educa- 
tional work  of  the  home.  That  is,  the  school  and  the 
home  are  working  together  to  educate  the  child.  The 
parents  of  the  better  class  of  people  can,  through  their 
children,  lend  a  strong  influence  for  the  good  of  the 
schools,  and  also  the  well-conducted  school  can  exert 
a  powerful  and  good  influence  over  the  poorer  class  of 
parents  by  teaching  the  children  cleanliness  and  mak- 
ing them  neat  in  their  habits. 

Thus  civilization  will  gradually  reach  a  higher  plane, 
and  future  generations  will  become  the  beneficiaries  of 
this  instruction  and  of  these  reforms  which  mark  the 
dawn  of  the  twentieth  century. 


CHAPTER   XII 

BEAUTY    IN    SCHOOL    WORK 

A  HEALTHFUL  and  beautiful  schoolroom  should  lead 
to  more  beautiful  results  in  school  work,  but  sometimes, 
alas,  it  does  not.  Occasionally  when  visiting  a  well- 
furnished  room,  where  results  are  slovenly  and  poor,  one 
is  reminded  of  Emerson's  experience  when  ascending 
Monadnock  :  — 

" '  Happy,'  I  said, '  whose  home  is  here  ! 
Fair  fortunes  to  the  mountaineer  ! 
Boon  Nature  to  his  poorest  shed 
Has  royal  pleasure-grounds  outspread! 
Intent,  I  searched  the  region  round 
And  in  low  hut  the  dweller  found : 
Woe  is  me  for  my  hopes'  downfall! 
Is  yonder  squalid  peasant  all 
This  proud  nursery  can  breed 
In  God's  vicegerency  and  stead?''1 

What  boots  our  fine  building  and  our  rich  furnishings 
if  they  make  the  children  and  children's  work  no  better? 
If  results  do  not  improve  under  improved  conditions,  it 
is  not  the  fault  of  the  conditions ;  some  person  is  to 
be  blamed,  and  usually  that  person  is  the  teacher.  A 
teacher  who  allows  her  children  still  to  feed  on  husks, 
and  to  do  the  disgraceful  work  of  the  far  country  when 
they  dwell  in  the  midst  of  the  house  beautiful  with 

1 68 


HOLY    FAMILY 

From  painting  by  Murillo.     1617-1682 


Suitable  for  km    :   .rule  room. 
Full  of  interest  for  children 


mal,  bird,  child  life,  cherubs  :  beau- 
tiful in  composition  of  dark  and 
light. 


C!  XII 

BE.--  WORK 

A  HEALTHFUL  and  beat  -oom  should  lead 

to  more  beautiful  results  in  s<  k,  but  sometimes, 

alas,  it  does   not.     Occasionally  siting  a  well- 

furnished  room,  where  results  are  slovu  j>oor.  one 

is  reminded  of  }•'.  .periencc 

YJIMAH    YJOH 

"  '  Happv,'  I  said,  •  whose  home  is  here  ! 


Boon  Nature  to  his  poorest  shed 
Has  royal  pleasure-grounds  outspread! 
Intent,  I  searched  the  region  round 
And  in  low  hut  the  dweller  found  : 
Woe  is  me  for  my  hopes'  downfall! 
Is  yonder  squalid  peasant  all 
This  proud  nursery  can  breed 
In  God's  vicegerency  and  stead?'" 

What  boots  our  fine  building  and  our  rich  furnishings 
if  they  make  the  children  and  children's  work  no  better? 
If  results  do  not  improve  under  improved  conditions,  it 
is  not  the  fault  .^fe^^pn^;^^  person  is  to 
be  blamed,  a^^u^^^a^erso^is  K  teacher.  A 
Wftter  who  ijteys.  tefl^WftM^U?  j!&d  on  husks' 
and  to  do  theb&sgf^fyj  ^8ftfe6^/rft?)e  fr1  Wntry  when 
they  dwell  in  the  midst  of  the  house  jj^^utiful  with 

1  68 


BEAUTY   IN   SCHOOL  WORK  169 

bread  enough  and  to  spare,  should  himself  be  given  his 
portion  of  goods  and  told  to  depart,  unless  he  plead  the 
one  valid  excuse,  ignorance.  But  that  excuse  should  be 
considered  valid  for  thirty  days  only.  Thirty  days  from 
date  of  discovery  the  lack  of  commensurate  results 
should  begin  to  be  less  evident ;  sixty  days  from  date 
results  should  be  fair,  and  in  ninety  days  good.  All 
the  ambitious  teacher  needs  —  the  teacher  ambitious 
to  serve  her  pupils  —  is  the  suggestion  that  beauty  is  to 
count  in  school  work,  side  by  side  with  accuracy.  "  I 
try  for  correct  spelling  and  accurate  number  work,  for 
good  position  in  writing  and  close  observation  in  draw- 
ing. If  I  get  accuracy,"  says  the  conscientious  teacher, 
"that  is  all  I  ask."  "If  you  get  simple  beauty  and 
naught  else,"  says  Browning,  "you  get  about  the  best 
thing  God  invents,"  and  if  that  is  true,  —  and  who 
doubts  it  ?  —  we  must  not  be  satisfied  with  mere  formal 
accuracy :  our  work  must  conform  to  the  aesthetic  ideals 
of  the  architect  and  the  artist  of  our  schoolroom  as  well 
as  to  the  mechanical  ideals  of  the  plumber  and  the 
carpenter. 

The  first  lesson  the  beautified  room  should  teach  is 

ADAPTATION, 

the  nice  adjustment  of  a  thing  to  its  environment,  or  to 
its,  place  or  function. 

A  perception  of  that  principle  will  lead  to  many  re- 
forms in  schoolroom  practice.  Pen  and  ink  will  not  be 
used  upon  rough  paper,  nor  will  the  pencil  be  used 
upon  glazed  paper.  Drawings  a  foot  square  will  not  be 
attempted  in  lead  pencil,  neither  will  charcoal  be  used 
on  a  sheet  6x9.  When  the  nature  lesson  has  been  on 


170       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

leaf  structure,  the  pupils  will  not  attempt  to  express 
that  with  the  brush  and  ink.  When  it  has  been  upon  the 
growth  of  the  grapevine  and  its  fruit,  they  will  not  be 
asked  to  draw  it  in  lead  pencil.  If  threads  and  dots  of 
color,  as  in  the  sedge,  are  to  be  expressed,  colored 
pencils  will  be  used.  If  broad  masses  of  color  with 
subtle  gradations,  as  in  the  morning  glory,  are  to  be 
expressed,  water  color  will  be  the  medium.  For  withered 
leaves  and  seed  pods  in  mass,  for  broad  silhouettes  to 
reveal  forms  as  wholes,  the  brush  and  ink  is  the  best 
medium.  In  the  careful,  searching  study  of  plant  growth, 
in  studies  of  structure  and  function,  the  medium  of  ex- 
pression is  the  pencil  or  the  pen.  The  ink  drawing 
shall  be  upon  gray  paper ;  the  delicate  water-color, 
upon  white ;  crayons,  usually  a  little  crude  and  harsh 
in  color,  shall  be  used  upon  cream-colored  paper  to 
soften  them. 

All  arithmetic  and  language  papers  will  not  be  the 
same  size,  regardless  of  the  amount  of  work  to  be 
placed  upon  them,  merely  that  they  may  be  bound  with 
a  brass  fastener  and  displayed  as  a  class  exercise.  They 
will  vary  in  size  according  to  the  lesson.  The  long 
column  of  primary  number  work  shall  have  its  long  nar- 
row paper,  and  the  spelling  lesson  shall  be  written  on  a 
paper  to  fit  (Plate  XXXVII),  just  as  the  pictures  upon 
the  walls  fit  their  frames.  A  large  sheet  and  blackboard 
crayon  are  appropriate  to  the  rendering  of  a  pumpkin, 
but  a  small  sheet  and  a  camel's  hair  brush  to  the  render- 
ing of  a  downy  butterfly.  A  winter  landscape  may  be 
suggested  in  ink,  but  for  autumn  foliage  there  must  be 
color.  In  geometric  diagrams,  where  accuracy  is  impor- 
tant, the  straight  lines  shall  be  ruled,  and  the  compasses 


BEAUTY   IN   SCHOOL  WORK  I/I 

shall  be  used  for  circles.  In  the  sketching  of  maps, 
where  relative  positions  only  are  important,  the  lines 
shall  be  free  hand.  Drawing  shall  not  be  upon  paper 
with  ruled  lines,  even  when  it  is  to  illustrate  a  written 
page,  nor  shall  writing  be  upon  unruled  paper  so  long 
as  the  child  needs  the  line. 

"The  classical  form  of  art,"  says  Hegel,  "is  the  free 
and  adequate  embodiment  of  the  Idea  in  the  shape 
that  is  peculiarly  appropriate  to  the  Idea  itself,"  a  state- 
ment which  is  at  once  so  comprehensive  and  so  discrimi- 
nating that  by  means  of  it  we  may  test  any  work  of  art 
from  a  first.-grade  spelling  paper  to  John  Sargent's 
"Triumph  of  Religion  "  or  the  Parthenon  Frieze. 

The  second  lesson  that  the  beautiful  things  in  a 
schoolroom  should  teach  is 

ARRANGEMENT, 

the  disposition  of  parts  in  harmonious  or  suitable  form. 

A  work  of  art  is  planned;  it  is  never  a  "fortuitous 
combination  of  atoms."  Throughout  there  is  that  nice 
adjustment  of  part  to  part  which  produces  a  beautiful 
whole.  This  should  be  emphasized  by  means  of  supple- 
mentary material,  such  as  Japanese  prints,  pages  from 
the  best  magazines,  artistic  circulars  and  posters,  ex- 
amples of  pupils'  work,  which  are  illustrations  of  good 
arrangement.  Under  the  inspiration  of  masterly  exam- 
ples, the  thoughtful  study  of  arrangement  should  begin 
in  the  primary  grades  and  continue  until  the  habit  of 
planning  any  work  with  regard  to  its  ultimate  appear- 
ance is  established. 

There  are  three  rules  of  arrangement  which  every 
pupil  should  know:  — 


172       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

I.  A  Sheet  should  Jiave  a  Proper  Margin.  —  Pictures 
look  best  when  framed;  the  full-page  frontispiece  in 
the  magazine  has  a  broad  margin,  this  printed  page 
has  a  clear  unoccupied  space  all  around  the  text,  space 
which  might  be  used  to  the  financial  advantage  of  the 
publisher,  if  the  great  public  with  its  ideals  of  conven- 
ience and  beauty  would  not  object.  But  the  public 
would  object.  It  would  not  buy  a  book  it  could  not 
hold  open  to  read  without  moving  its  thumbs  about ! 
It  allows  narrow  margins  in  Bibles  because  a  limp- 
covered  Bible  stays  open  of  itself,  but  in  other  books 
a  broad  margin  is  a  convenience,  not  only  in  holding 
the  book,  but  for  the  making  of  marginal  notes,  and  be- 
cause it  aids  the  eye  by  isolating  the  text.  Moreover, 
it  adds  greatly  to  the  beauty  of  the  page.  The  same 
considerations  should  have  weight  in  school  work.  No 
paper  should  be  crowded  from  edge  to  edge  with  figures 
or  text  or  sketches.  It  is  customary  in  school  exercises 
to  write  on  all  the  ruled  lines  of  a  sheet ;  but  why  ? 
Why  so  much  margin  at  the  top  and  none  below  or  at 
the  sides  ?  Sometimes  sheets  have  a  strong  red  line  an 
inch  or  two  from  the  left  edge ;  in  such  cases  the  text 
usually  begins  at  that  line  and  spills  off  the  right-hand 
edge,  or  stops  timidly  short  of  it,  or  huddles  together  at 
the  brink  of  it.  The  margin,  at  left  and  right  should  be 
alike,  that  at  the  top  about  the  same,  and  the  lower 
margin  somewhat  wider,  as  upon  this  page.  In  the 
case  of  a  "chapter  heading,"  with  title  or  sketch  or 
ornamental  initial  of  especial  weight,  the  upper  margin 
may  be  the  wider.  If  a  map  or  a  picture  fills  the  entire 
sheet,  the  sheet  should  be  mounted  upon  another  of 
larger  size,  and,  if  possible,  of  a  slightly  different  color, 


BEAUTY   IN   SCHOOL  WORK  173 

so  that  the  sheet  may  have  its  proper  margin  and  be 
seen  to  good  advantage. 

2.  A  Sheet  should  have  an  Orderly  Plan.  —  A  good  pic- 
ture or  cast  yields  its  subject  to  the  first  glance  of  inquiry. 
It  is  a  Madonna  or  a  knight,  a  shepherdess  or  a  gleaner  ; 
it  is  a  landscape,  or  a  sea  piece,  or  a  bit  of  still  life ;  after 
even  a  hasty  glance  no  one  could  have  any  doubt  as  to 
the  broad  intention  of  the  artist. 

The  same  should  be  true  of  school  papers.  One 
ought  not  to  find  "  Sadie  King "  in  bold  chirography 
at  the  top  of  a  language  paper  when  the  subject  of 
the  paper  is  "Sir  Joshua  Reynolds."  Letters  written 
by  primary  children  ought  not  to  begin  :  — 

Elizabeth  Brown,  aged  6. 
Hatherly  School,  Grade  I. 
My  Dear  Papa :  My  teacher  — 

We  do  not  start  our  private  correspondence  just  that 
way,  and  a  paper  so  started  does  not  explain  itself  at 
sight. 

A  nature  paper  ought  not  to  give  the  impression  of 
being  a  drawing  lesson,  nor  a  drawing  paper  that  of 
being  the  result  of  a  lesson  in  language  or  paper  cut- 
ting. A  history  lesson  should  not  result  in  a  paper 
doll  in  costume,  nor  a  geography  lesson  in  a  chart 
covered  with  bottles,  peanut  shells,  and  scrap  iron. 
The  papers  produced  by  children  in  schools  may  be 
classified  for  convenience  as  follows  :  — 

1.  Letters.  4.    Diagrams. 

2.  Essays.  5.    Drawings. 

3.  Charts.  6.    Sheets  of  notes  and  sketches. 


1/4       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

The  correct  form  for  the  first,  a,  is  well  known.  That 
for  the  second  may  be  gathered  from  any  magazine. 
There  are  but  two  right  plans.  In  one  the  name  and 
date  are  placed  at  the  end  of  the  text,  b.  In  the  other 
the  name  only,  at  the  beginning  after  the  title,  c.  The 
form  of  a  chart  depends  somewhat  upon  the  subject- 
matter,  but  in  any  case  the  topic  should  be  the  most 
prominent  feature,  and  the  sub-topics  next. 


a  b  c 

FIG.  26. —  MODELS  OF  ARRANGEMENT. 

Diagrams  and  drawings  are  less  liable  to  become 
confused  through  lack  of  plan,  but  even  here  there  is  a 
tendency  to  add  unnecessary  and  confusing  details.  A 
pupil's  name  in  full,  age,  sex,  and  "previous  condition 
of  servitude,"  need  not  disfigure  the  face  of  the  sheet. 
Such  information  for  the  benefit  of  people  interested  in 
biographic  data  might  be  written  upon  the  back  of  the 
sheet.  Notes  and  sketches  should  be  classified  in  en- 
velopes or  portfolios  and  properly  marked  that  their 
character  may  be  identified  instantly. 

When  papers  are  illustrated  by  means  of  clippings  or 
sketches,  or  enriched  with  ornamental  initials  or  end 
pieces,  the  plan  of  the  paper  as  a  whole  should  in  no 
wise  be  obscured. 


BEAUTY   IN   SCHOOL  WORK 


175 


3.  A  Sheet  should  have  Balance.  —  Every  work  of  pic- 
torial art  has  what  may  be  called  a  "magnetic  pole,"  or 
center  of  interest,  and  a  "center  of  gravity."  The  two 
may  or  may  not  coincide.  In  Murillo's  "  Holy  Family," 
they  do,  almost ;  in  Alma  Tadema's  "  Reading  Homer  " 
they  do  not.  The  "center  of  gravity"  is  at  the  center 
of  the  area  covered  by  the  picture,  or  upon  a  line  pass- 
ing through  the  center  of  the  mass  of  a  piece  of  sculp- 


d  e  f 

FIG.  27.— MODELS  OF  ARRANGEMENT. 

ture.  About  this  center  the  artist  disposes  his  material 
—  weight  against  weight,  interest  against  interest,  spot 
over  against  spot  —  until  the  eye  is  satisfied  because 
the  work  has  a  stable  equilibrium. 

Every  sheet  produced  by  pupils  in  school  should  be 
balanced  in  effect,  and  thus  reflect  some  echo  of  the 
harmony  of  a  work  of  art.  It  is  possible.  Let  a  child 
ooce  grasp  the  principle  of  balance,  and  his  every  paper 
takes  on  a  new  and  fascinating  interest ;  he  himself  is 
no  longer  an  artisan,  he  is  exalted  into  the  realm  of  the 
artist. 

In  these  rough  diagrams  of  sheets,  Figs.  26,  27,  28, 
notice  how  this  principle  of  balance  has  been  observed. 
In  bt  e,  dt  g,  and  m  the  matter  has  been  arranged  bisym- 


1/6       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 


metrically,  so  far  as  written  text  will  allow,  upon  a  cen- 
tral axis ;  in  the  others  the  matter  has  been  distributed 
with  no  less  care,  but  with  less  evident  formality.  In 
e  the  additional  weight  of  the  ornamental  initial  at  the 
left  is  balanced  by  the  weight  of  the  name  below  at  the 
right.  In/",  picture  and  text  above  are  balanced  by  text 
and  picture  below.  In  h,  the  two  initials  at  the  left  are 


FIG.  28.— MODELS  OF  ARRANGEMENT. 

offset  by  the  additional  amount  of  text  at  the  right  of 
the  central  axis  and  by  the  name  at  the  lower  right 
hand.  In  the  double-paged  sheet,  m  is  bisymmetrical 
and  n  balanced  like/",  but  the  sheet  as  a  whole  is  bal- 
anced—  the  title  and  the  smaller  amount  of  text  over 
against  the  larger  amount  of  text,  and  the  two  smaller 
pictures  over  against  the  one  large  one.  A  glance  at 
the  plates  in  this  chapter  and  in  the  Appendix,  made 


BEAUTY   IN   SCHOOL  WORK  177 

directly  from  pupils'  work,  will  show  that  pupils  of  all 
ages  can  grasp  this  principle  and  apply  it.  Nothing 
should  be  placed  upon  any  sheet  at  random.  Illustra- 
tion, text,  pupil's  name  or  initials,  and  even  the  teacher's 
mark  of  approval  or  criticism  should  be  placed  in  rela- 
tion to  each  other  and  to  the  sheet  as  a  whole. 

If  the  measure  of  a  man's  religion  is  his  daily  life, 
the  measure  of  a  pupil's  culture  is  his  daily  work.  Let 
us  not  deceive  ourselves  with  the  notion  that  a  well- 
decorated  schoolroom  and  an  hour  a  week  spent  in 
drawing  or  picture  study  is  exalting  the  aesthetic  stand- 
ards of  the  pupil,  although  the  work  of  his  hands  is 
just  as  slovenly  and  bungling  and  inartistic  as  ever. 
When  the  beauty  of  the  world  has  entered  our  souls, 
the  beauty  within  will  manifest  itself  in  beautiful  deeds. 

The  third  lesson  which  should  come  from  the  master- 
pieces upon  the  schoolroom  wall  is  — 

ENRICHMENT. 

A  work  of  art  has  what  John  La  Farge  calls  a  "full- 
ness of  intention,"  quite  inconceivable  by  one  who  has 
never  attempted  artistic  expression.1  Large  areas  of 
information,  knowledge,  and  skill  are  drained  to  pro- 
duce a  work  like  Alma  Tadema's  "  Vintage  Festival," 
or.  William  Hunt's  "  Flight  of  Time  "  ;  the  quintessence 
of  Myth  and  History,  of  Science  and  Poetry,  of  Nature 
and  the  artist's  own  soul  are  poured  into  that  wonderful 
"  Circe  "  by  Edward  Burne-Jones. 

Every  sheet  produced  by  pupils  should  have  this 
same  fullness  of  intention.  As  the  artist  concentrates 

1  "Considerations  on  Painting,"  Macmillan,  1896. 
N 


1 78       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

himself  upon  his  canvas,  and  puts  into  it  all  the  appro- 
priate knowledge  he  has,  so  the  pupil  should  express  him- 
self. Each  sheet  should  be  an  index  of  the  sum  total  of 
his  powers  at  the  time.  The  clear  penmanship  of  the 
writing  lesson,  the  fine  drawing  of  the  drawing  lesson, 
the  good  spacing  and  arrangement  of  the  lesson  in 
decorative  design,  the  correct  English  of  the  language 
lesson,  the  right  orthography  of  the  spelling  lesson,  the 
free  original  expressions  of  the  conversation  lesson,  the 
geographical  data  from  the  lesson  in  geography,  and 
the  historical  facts  gleaned  from  the  study  of  history, 
—  all  should  appear  in  that  paper  on  "Egypt."  Only 
when  one  gives  his  first  best  every  time,  is  he  sure  of 
having  something  better  to  give  next  time  —  "Give  and 
it  shall  be  given  you  "  is  the  law  in  the  realm  of  spirit. 

But  it  is  the  teacher's  duty  to  see  that  the  children 
have  much  to  give.  These  beautiful  things  in  the 
schoolroom  should  lead  to  an  enrichment  of  the  work 
of  the  school  along  the  lines  of  language,  history,  litera- 
ture, and  art.  Here  are  some  of  the  language  topics 
suggested  by  such  a  work  of  art  as  "The  Holy  Family  " 
(Murillo):  — 

1.  Murillo's  "Holy  Family"  —  a  description  of  the 
masterpiece. 

2.  What  does  the  "  Holy  Family  "  say  to  me  ? 

3.  Story  of  the  Christ  child. 

4.  History  of  the  canvas  —  when  painted,  for  whom, 
changes  in  ownership  and  home.     Its  present  home. 

5.  The  story  of  Murillo  —  his  life  and  works. 

6.  The  paintings  of  Murillo  —  their  style,  what  they 
have  in  common. 

7.  The  composition  of  the  "  Holy  Family." 


BEAUTY   IN   SCHOOL  WORK  179 

8.  Murillo's  place  in  Spanish  art. 

9.  Murillo's  place  in  the  history  of  painting. 

It  will  be  seen  that  these  topics  cover  a  wide  range. 
The  first  is  not  too  difficult  for  even  first  year  chil- 
dren. (They  may  as  well  write  "  I  see  a  pretty  little 
boy  with  a  dove  above  his  head,"  as  "I  see  a  cat ;  the 
cat  can  run ;  run,  cat,  run.")  High  school  pupils  will 
find  such  a  topic  none  too  easy ;  it  will  tax  their  powers 
to  the  utmost.  The  seventh  topic  may  be  treated  in 
any  grade  above  the  fourth  year.  It  will  mean  one 
thing  to  a  boy  of  twelve,  and  something  deeper  and 
richer,  let  us  hope,  to  a  boy  of  seventeen,  and  the 
essays  will  differ  as  widely,  perhaps,  as  Miss  Hurll's 
sketch  of  Raphael's  "  Transfiguration  " 1  and  Dr.  Har- 
ris's ; 2  but  both  will  be  entirely  legitimate  and  helpful. 
The  upper  grade  pupil  will  not  treat  the  eighth  or  ninth 
topic  as  would  M.  Henri  Taine,  but  he  will  find  either 
topic  a  richer  vein  to  work  than  "  The  Value  of  a  Good 
Education,"  or  "The  Improvement  of  Time." 

Other  masterpieces  will  suggest  similar  topics,  any 
one  of  which  will  be  a  door  into  a  new  world.  How 
well  Emerson  has  described  the  ideal  teacher,  whose 
motive  is  love,  and  whose  aim  is  culture  and  power  for 
her  every  pupil :  — 

"  Day  by  day  for  her  darlings 
To  her  much  she  added  more. 
In  her  hundred-gated  Thebes 
Every  chamber  was  a  door ; 
A  door  to  something  grander, 
Loftier  wall  and  wider  floor." 

1  In  Riverside  Art  Series,  No.  I. 

8  In  Journal  of  Speculative  Philosophy,  Vol.  I. 


180       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 

As  a  proof  that  beautiful  school  work  may  be  done  by 
pupils  under  the  twofold  influence  of  beautiful  school- 
rooms and  artistic  teachers,  the  following  plates  have 
been  prepared  by  photographic  reproduction  from  origi- 
nals by  pupils  in  the  Massachusetts  schools.  It  is  hoped 
that  the  explanatory  notes  will  be  found  suggestive  to 
the  enthusiastic  and  ambitious  teachers  throughout  the 
country,  who  have  done  and  are  doing  so  great  a  work 
for  the  American  people. 

Let  the  last  word  be  that  of  William  Morris  :  — 
"  What  I  want  to  do  is  to  put  definitely  before  you  a 
cause  for  which  to  strive.  That  cause  is  the  Democracy 
of  Art,  the  ennobling  of  daily  and  common  work,  which 
will  one  day  put  hope  and  pleasure  in  the  place  of  fear 
and  pain,  as  the  forces  which  move  men  to  labor  and 
keep  the  world  a-going." 


EXAMPLES    OF 
ARTISTIC    SCHOOL    WORK 


PLATE  XXXVII 

(1)  A  number  paper  by  a  first  grade  primary  pupil.     The  little 
seal  is  the  "medal  of  honor"  for  a  correct  and  well-arranged  sheet. 

(2)  An  artistic  spelling  paper.     The  pupils  were  asked  to  sketch 
at  the  head  of  the  sheet  something  from  the  object,  from  memory, 
or  from  imagination.     The  name  and  date  were  added.     Each  pupil 
now  wrote  all  the  words  suggested  by  his  sketch.     Each  pupil  thus 
chose  his  own  subject,  dictated  his  own  words,  and  furnished  the 
teacher  with  a  list  of  words  which  he  could  not  spell,  that  she  might 
have  material  for  the  next  spelling  lesson.     The  teacher  who  in- 
vented that  labor-saving,  mind-probing  device  is  a  genius! 


PLATE  XXXVII.  — A  WELL  ARRANGED  NUMBER  PAPER,  BY  A 
LOWEST  GRADE  PRIMARY  PUPIL.  AN  ARTISTIC  SPELLING 
PAPER,  BY  A  SIXTH  GRADE  PUPIL. 


PLATE  XXXVIII 

This  plate  shows  at  a  glance  the  difference  between  a  well- 
arranged  paper  and  its  opposite.  The  first  is  a  language  paper 
from  a  second  grade.  Each  pupil  was  given  a  paper  with  a  decal- 
comania-like  flower  in  the  corner,  which  served  as  the  suggestion 
for  one  simple  sentence,  to  be  repeated  for  the  sake  of  practice  in 
writing.  The  second  is  without  proper  margins,  without  a  rational 
plan,  and  is  unbalanced  and  careless.  The  handwriting  "combines 
the  vices  of  both  the  vertical  and  the  slant  systems." 


CX/rc.      AAxi.     Oxrvxi 


TTUL 


Oxi^t,     AJLcL       CXxrxxiL 


PLATE  XXXVIII.  — A  WELL  SPACED  LANGUAGE  PAPER,  SEC- 
OND GRADE.  AN  ILL  ARRANGED  AND  POORLY  WRITTEN 
LANGUAGE  PAPER,  SIXTH  GRADE. 


PLATE  XXXIX 

Lessons  in  mounting.  Pupils  were  asked  to  bring  from  home,  or 
to  cut  from  old  magazines  among  the  teacher's  stores,  a  picture  of  any 
shape  or  subject  they  might  fancy.  They  were  then  required  to  cut 
from  gray  paper  of  appropriate  intensity  a  mount  which  should  show 
the  picture  to  the  best  advantage.  The  picture  was  then  fastened  to 
the  mount  in  such  a  position  that  the  four  margins  hold  the  right 
relations  to  each  other.  The  illustrations  are  from  work  of  fourth 
year  pupils. 


PLATE  XXXIX.  — STUDIES   IN   THE   MOUNTING  OF   PICTURES, 
BY  FOURTH  GRADE  PUPILS. 


PLATE  XL 

A  language  paper,  by  an  eighth  grade  pupil.  An  example  of  a 
well-planned  and  balanced  sheet.  Subject  evident,  scrap  picture 
properly  placed,  text  rightly  paragraphed,  effect  of  the  whole  inviting. 


I  ruh 


dLAijL.  Cj  A-O^IOU  oA,  "VTLiJLcx'Yx- 
c>  '.A  i  vt.  ,/xs^lv*-xJxdL  ' 


LVvt- 


PLATE    XL.  — A   WELL  ARRANGED    LANGUAGE    PAPER,   BY 
EIGHTH   GRADE   PUPIL. 


PLATE  XLI 

A  well-spaced,  well-balanced  history  paper,  but  not  quite  orderly 
in  its  plan.  The  subject  of  the  sheet  should  have  been  first,  and  the 
name  of  the  school  and  pupil  after  it  in  less  conspicuous  handwriting. 
This  page  was  the  first  of  a  series,  illustrated  by  means  of  sketches 
and  scrap  pictures,  which  was  designed  to  correlate  closely  geogra- 
phy, history,  art,  drawing,  penmanship,  and  language.  The  pupils, 
though  averaging  but  eleven  or  twelve  years  of  age,  found  it  fascinat- 
ing to  follow  the  course  of  civilization  from  its  root  in  the  Nile  mud 
to  its  flower  in  Christian  England  and  America. 


-ive 

,     ti  _., 


PLATE  XIJ.  — A   WELL  SPACED   HISTORY    PAPER,  BY  A  FIFTH 
GRADE   PUPIL. 


PLATE  XLII 

This  is  another  page  from  one  of  the  pamphlets  on  "  The  Growth 
of  the  Civilizing  Arts,"  by  a  fifth  grade  pupil.  It  is  well  planned  and 
well  balanced.  The  spacing  of  the  text  might  be  improved,  but  it 
will  do  for  a  twelve  year  old  ! 


Hi 


T^> 

fcruL  I  cxVLKs^ 

".'    ~~ 

•.  Ou-rvdL  cv  roa-T-t 

, 

^|U2~&T  ryOcrC     LXrO^S     &  i 

fcoL  IJ-M  x>t»iuj!. 


O  f     px^tdxT  A  . 

--;-.          7D 
I  t\Si,    I  \cnrrvcvr\5 

fcKc^  LJYCf-Ivs   -    I    K«-M    U^fe^fl    tKjL,    O-^rcK    Qvn-dL 
t.  kc     d.i>-rr^iL.  OL-  Ol  o-oj-  d-B^O-i.    i^rx 

/u 


PLATE    XLII.  — A    WELL    ARRANGED     HISTORY    PAPER,    BY    A 
FIFTH   GRADE  PUPIL. 


PLATE  XLIII 

The  first  page  of  a  folio  sheet  by  an  eighth  grade  pupil,  showing 
the  correlation  of  geography,  history,  drawing,  and  composition. 
The  paper  was  illustrated  by  sketches  in  pen  and  ink,  and  contained 
a  full-paged  plate  —  a  picture  cut  from  a  magazine.  Notice  the  bal- 
ance of  parts  and  the  interesting  line  leading  the  eye  to  the  title. 
The  title  is  a  trifle  small,  but  it  would  be  insignificant  were  it  not  for 
the  lines  leading  the  eye  to  it.  The  sketches,  the  drawing,  and  the 
whole  character  of  the  page  are  suggestive  of  the  Japanese  spirit.  It 
is  a  thoroughly  good  bit  of  applied  design  —  design  applied  to  school 
life,  not  to  imaginary  conditions. 


1 


PLATE   XLIII.  — ORIGINAL    DESIGN7    FOR  THE  FIRST   PAGE  OF 
A   GEOGRAPHY   PAPER,  BY   AN    EIGHTH   GRADE   PUPIL. 


PLATE  XLIV 

Original  design  for  a  cover  for  a  series  of  language  papers  upon 
Egyptian  art,  by  an  eighth  grade  pupil.  The  papers  were  upon  the 
following  topics :  — 

1.  "The  Sphinx,"  a  poem  by  John  L.  Stoddard. 

2.  The  story  of  Joseph. 

3.  Egyptian  history  —  its  great  period. 

4.  The  tombs  of  Egypt. 

5.  The  temples. 

6.  The  religion  of  Egypt. 

The  papers  were  illustrated  with  scrap  pictures.  In  the  cover 
design  notice  how  the  form  of  upper  and  lower  Egypt  suggests  the 
lotus,  so  typical  of  all  the  decorative  art  of  the  country.  The  ar- 
rangement is  good,  and  the  title  anything  but  prosaic.  The  whole 
scheme  was  a  delight  to  both  pupils  and  teachers. 


LtTCIMX) 

DOWN 'INTO 

EGYPT 


PLATE  XLIV.  — THE  FIRST  PAGE  OF  A  SERIES  OF  PAPERS  ON 
EGYPT.  AN  ORIGINAL  DESIGN  BY  AN  EIGHTH  GRADE 
PUPIL. 


PLATE  XLV 

Sketches  in  common  writing  ink,  diluted,  upon  gray  paper.  The 
first  is  an  original  composition  by  a  sixth  grade  pupil,  to  illustrate 
Whittier's  "  Snowbound."  The  second  is  an  original  composition 
by  an  eighth  grade  pupil.  Subject,  "  Evening."'  They  were  made  to 
be  used  in  the  enrichment  of  literature  papers. 


PLATE   XLV.— ORIGINAL    COMPOSITIONS    IN    INK    WASH,    BY 
GRAMMAR    PUPILS. 


PLATE  XLVI 

The  design  at  the  left  is  an  ornamental  panel,  intended  to  deco- 
rate the  cover  of  a  series  of  autumn  nature  studies.  It  was  drawn 
in  ink  by  a  ninth  grade  pupil.  The  others  are  original  designs  for 
ornamental  initials  to  be  used  in  nature-study  papers  by  ninth  grade 
children.  The  initials  were  drawn  in  black  and  one  tone  of  gray 
upon  a  white  ground  in  one  case,  and  upon  a  gray  ground  in  the 
other. 


PLATE  XLVI.  — ORIGINAL  DESIGNS  IN   INK  WASH,  BY  NINTH 
GRADE  PUPILS. 


PLATE  XL VI I 

Object  drawing.  The  problems  involved  are:  i,  an  interesting 
group  ;  2,  good  spacing ;  3,  a  well-balanced  sheet ;  4,  pleasing  rela- 
tions of  dark  and  light.  These  drawings  were  made  in  two  colors 
and  black,  by  ninth  year  pupils.  Notice  the  effective  use  of  the 
monogram  in  the  upper  sheet. 


PLATE  XLVII.— DRAWINGS    IN   TWO  COLORS  AND  BLACK,  BY 
NINTH   GRADE  PUPILS. 


PLATE  XLVIII 

(1)  Sheet  by  a  high  school  pupil,  illustrating  the  correlation  of 
history,  literature,  drawing,  and   composition.      The   original  was 
drawn  in  lead  pencil. 

(2)  Sheet  by  a  normal  pupil,  illustrating  the  correlation  of  na- 
ture study,  drawing,  literature,  and  decorative  arrangement.     In  the 
original,  the  goldfinch  was  in  water-color  and  the  lettering  drawn 
with  a  brush. 


\W     C\V>\A\ 


-^SCW^COCVX 

\-v\A  Vtls  Wx  s  AW w-vwti  \>t  v\^^  s'tr 

v^CV\Xt    ^« 


PLATE  \LVlll.-A  DRAWING  IN  PENCIL,  BY  A  HIGH  SCHOOL 
PUPIL.  A  DRAWING  IN  WATER  COLOR,  BY  A  NORMAL 
SCHOOL  PUPIL.  EXAMPLES  OF  GOOD  ARRANGEMENT. 


PLATE  XLIX 

Drawing  in  connection  with  nature  study.  Studier,  of  a  sprouting 
bean,  by  a  high  school  pupil.  The  original  was  in  color.  Notice 
the  arrangement  of  the  spots  on  the  page,  and  how  skillfully  the 
initials  are  added  to  help  carry  the  eye  around  the  corner.  They 
form  an  important  but  unobtrusive  spot  and  assist  greatly  in  the 
balance  of  the  sheet. 


PLATE  XLIX.  — STUDIES   OF  A   SPROUTING   BEAN,   BY   A    HIGH 
SCHOOL  PUPIL. 


PLATE  L 

The  cover  for  a  set  of  papers  on  "  Greek  Architecture  and  Orna- 
ment.1' An  original  design  by  a  normal  school  pupil.  The  papers 
were  written  upon  unruled  sheets  and  illustrated  by  means  of  scrap 
pictures,  a  map,  and  appropriate  end-pieces.  This  cover  was  in 
water-color,  three  colors  on  a  cream  ground. 


CRGGK  A  &  £  & 
ARCHITGCTVRC 
ANP  ORNAMENT. 


I 

it 
H 

H 

H 

jj 
H 


M 

H 


PLATE   L.— ORIGINAL   DESIGN    FOR   A   COVER   FOR  A   SET   OF 
PAPERS   ON    GREEK   ARCHITECTURE,  BY   A    NORMAL   PUPIL. 


PLATE  LI 

A  cover  for  a  set  of  Greek  papers.  An  original  design  in  two 
colors,  white  and  black,  by  a  high  school  pupil.  The  design  is  thor- 
oughly Greek  in  effect,  yet  no  single  element  is  an  exact  copy  of  a 
Greek  original. 


KTPOT 


ANABASIS 


PLATE  LI.  — A   COVER   FOR  A   SET  OF  GREEK   PAPERS. 
ORIGINAL   DESIGN    UY   A    HIGH   SCHOOL   PUPIL. 


APPENDIX 


A    CLASSIFIED    LIST    OF   WORKS    OF    ART    SUITABLE    FOR 
SCHOOLROOM  DECORATION 


PICTURES 

KINDERGARTEN  AND  PRIMARY  GRADES 

A  Distinguished  Member  of  the  Royal  Humane 

Society        .......  Landseer 

Age  of  Innocence Reynolds 

An  Old  Monarch Rosa  Bonheur 

Baby  Stuart Van  Dyck 

By  the  Riverside Le  Rolle 

Can't  You  Talk? Holmes 

Caritas Thayer 

Cathedral  of  Pisa,  with  Leaning  Tower,  Western. 

Children  of  the  Shell Murillo 

Christ  Blessing  Little  Children  .        .         .    Hoffman  or  Plockhorst 

Feeding  the  Birds Millet 

Holy  Antonius  of  Padua Murillo 

Holy  Night Corregio 

Little  Rose Whistler 

Madonna  of  the  Chair Raphael 

Milan  Cathedral. 

Mother  and  Child Brush 

Norman  Sire      .......  Rosa  Bonheur 

Rest  in  Flight Knaus 

Shepherdess  Knitting Millet 

The  Blacksmith Frere 

The  Connoisseurs      ......  Landseer 

The  Escaped  Cow Dufre 


214       SCHOOL   SANITATION  AND   DECORATION 


INTERMEDIATE  GRADES 

Angels'  Heads 

At  the  Watering  Trough        . 

Automedon 

Brother  and  Sister          . 

Children  of  Charles  I 

Christmas  Bells      ...... 

Cologne  Cathedral,  Germany. 
Dignity  and  Impudence          . 

Haymaker's  Lunch 

Holy  Night 

Horse  Fair 

Infante  Don  Balthasar 

Kahyl 

Madame  Le  Brun  and  Child  (Morning) 
Madonna  and  Child        . 
Madonna,  Child  and  St.  John 
Madonna  di  San  Sisto    . 

Odin  (Dog) 

On  the  Coast  near  Scheveningen    . 

Paysage          

Penelope  Boothby 

Pharaoh's  Horses 

Pilgrims  going  to  Church        . 

Ploughing      ....... 

Return  of  the  Fishing  Boats  . 
Return  from  the  Farm  . 

St.  Mark's  Church,  Venice. 

Shepherdess 

The  Gleaners 


GRAMMAR  GRADES 


Amiens  Cathedral,  France. 
A  Morning  Landscape   . 
Aurora  .... 
Capitol  at  Washington. 
Christ  in  the  Temple 


Reynolds 

Dagnan-Bouveret 
Regnault 
Abbott  Thayer 
Van  Dyck 
Blashfield 

Landseer 

Duprb 

Le  Rolle 

Rosa  Bonheur 

Velasqiiez 

Shreyer 

Mme.  Le  Brun 

Dagnan-Bouveret 

Bottguereau 

Raphael 

Landseer 

Mesdag 

Corot 

Reynolds 

Herring 

Boughton 

Rosa  Bonheur 

Mesdag 

Troyon 

Le  Rolle 

Millet 


Corot 
Guido  Rent 

Hoffman 


APPENDIX 


215 


Church  of  Santa  Maria  della  Salute. 

Dance  of  the  Nymphs Corot 

Ducal  Palace,  Venice. 

Equestrian  Statue  of  General  Colleoni    .         .  Verrocchio 

Fighting  Temeraire Turner 

Grand  Canal  and  Rialto  Bridge,  Venice. 

Harvest  Moon Mason 

Houses  of  Parliament,  London,  or  New  Palace 
of  Westminster. 

In  the  Meadow Le  Rolle 

Madonna  of  the  Shop Dagnan-Bouvtret 

Madonna  Gran  Duca Raphael 

Mount  Vernon. 

Notre  Dame  Cathedral,  Paris. 

Othello Becker 

Porta  Delia  Carta,  Venice. 

Portrait  of  Rubens Rubens 

Queen  Louise         ......  Richter 

Reading  from  Homer     .....  Alma-Tadema 

Shaw  Memorial      ......  St.  Gaudens 

Sir  Galahad Watts 

St.  Cecilia Raphael 

Temperance Burne-Jones 

The  Alhambra,  Granada,  Court  of  Lions. 

The  Golden  Stairs Burne-Jones 

The  Haymaker       .         .         .         .     '    .         .  Adan 

The  King  of  Rome Greuze 

The  Quest  of  the  Grail  Series : 

Oath  of  Knighthood        ....  Abbey 

Round  Table  of  King  Arthur  .         .         .  Abbey 

The  Shepherdess Millet 

The  Sower Millet 

The  Taj  Mahal,  India. 

The  Water  Carrier Millet 

Virgin  Enthroned  ......  Abbott  Thayer 

Virgin,  Infant  Jesus,  and  St.  John          .         .  Botticelli 

Washington Stuart 

Westminster  Abbey,  London. 


2l6       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND   DECORATION 


HIGH  SCHOOL 

A  Doge  of  Venice     .... 

Angels 

Angel  Trumpeters  (colored) 

Angelus 

Appian  Way,  Rome. 

Approach  to  Venice  .... 

Arch  of  Titus. 

Breaking  Home  Ties 

Canterbury  Pilgrims  .... 

Castle  of  St.  Angelo  and  the  Tiber. 

Christ  and  the  Rich  Ruler  . 

Circe 

Diana's  Bath 

Duomo  and  Campanile,  Florence. 

Elizabeth  Bas 

Evolution  of  the  Book  (series  of  six) 
Frieze  of  the  Prophets 
Government  (series  of  five) 

Jeanne  d'Arc 

Julian 

Lady  Hamilton 

Last  Supper 

Moses 

Mosque  of  Omar,  Jerusalem. 

Napoleon  at  Waterloo. 

Portrait  of  his  Mother 

Primavera ...... 

Princes  in  the  Tower 

Roman  Forum.     View  from  Colosseum. 

St.  Michel  and  Satan 

St.  Michel  and  Satan 

SouPs  Awakening       .... 

Sybils 

The  Days  of  Creation 
The  Vintage  Festival 
Ulysses  deriding  Polyphemus  . 


Bellini 

Farli 

Fra  Angelica 

Millet 

Turner 

Hovenden 
Blake 

Hoffman 

Burne-Jones 

Corot 

Rembrandt 
Alexander 
Sargent 
Vedder 
Le  Page 
Michael  Angelo 
Romney 
Da  Vinci 
Michael  Angelo 


Whistler 
Botticelli 
Millais 

Guido  Reni 

Raphael 

Sant 

Michael  Angelo 

Burne-Jones 

Alma-  Tadema 

Turner 


APPENDIX  217 


View  of  Acropolis  and  Parthenon. 

View  of  Arch  of  Constantine. 

View  of  Erechtheum  and  Caryatid  Porch,  Ionic  Order. 

View  of  Isle  of  Philae  and  Pharaoh's  Bed. 

View  of  Pantheon. 

View  of  Sphinx  and  Pyramids. 


CASTS 
KINDERGARTEN  AND  PRIMARY  GRADES 

Bambino  —  From  Children's  Hospital,  Florence. 
Bambino  —  From  Children's  Hospital,  Florence. 

Cat Fremiet 

Cherub  —  From  Tomb  of  Henry  IV. 
Cherub  —  From  Tomb  of  Henry  IV. 

Cock Fremiet 

Elephant Barye 

Lion Barye 

Madonna  and  Child. 
Madonna  and  Child. 

Madonna  and  Child Andrea  della  Robbia 

Rabbit Fremiet 

Seraph. 
Singing  Cherubs. 

St.  John Bargello 

St.  John,  in  Boyhood. 

INTERMEDIATE  GRADES 

Choir  Boys,  or  (Seven  Boys  singing  from  One  Book.)  Luca  della  Robbia 
Columbus  .......  Cancrva 

Elephant  (running)   .....  Barye 

Faun Praxiteles 

Flight  of  Time William  Hunt 

Lion          .......  Barye 

Madonna  and  Child Bargello,  Florence 

Maiden  of  Lille          .         .         .     Attributed  to  Raphael 


2l8       SCHOOL   SANITATION   AND    DECORATION 

Morning Thorwaldsen 

Night Thorwaldsen 

Nun  Seated. 

St.  George Donatella,  Florence 

St.  John  —  From  the  Pinacoteca,  Florence. 

Triumph  of  Alexander       ....  Thorwaldsen 

Venus  of  Melos  —  From  the  Louvre. 

GRAMMAR  GRADES 
Angels. 
Angels. 
Angels  Bearing  Wreaths  —  From  San  Zanobia's 

Monument  in  the  Duomo,  Florence. 
Angels  with    Musical   Instruments  —  From   the 

Front  of  an  Altar  in  the  Church  of  San  Tro- 

vasso,  Venice  (fifteenth  century). 
Apollo  in  a  Chariot. 
Apollo  Belvedere  —  At  Rome,  or  the  Vatican. 

Bear  (dancing) Barye 

Chariot  Race  (Ouadriges). 
Chariot  Race  (Quadriges). 
Choir  Boys,  or  (Five  Boys  singing  from  One  Scroll.)  Luca  della  Robbia 

David A.  Mercie 

Diana  of  Versailles  —  From  the  Louvre. 

Hypnos  —  Original  in  British  Museum. 

Moorish  Panel  —  From  the  Alhambra. 

Moorish  Panel  —  From  the  Alhambra. 

Nike",  or  Victory,  untying  Sandals      .         .  Praxiteles 

Nike,   or   Victory   of   Samothrace  —  From   the 

Louvre. 
Nubian  Girl. 

Panther Barye 

Portrait Antonio  Pollajolo 

Scroll,  with  Griffins. 

Slave Michael  Angela 

Sphinx  —  From  British  Museum. 

Victory,   or    Nike*  —  From    National    Museum, 

Naples. 


APPENDIX  219 


HIGH  SCHOOL 

Apollo  and  the  Muses. 

Bacchante  —  From  Capitoline  Museum,  Rome. 

Capital  —  From  the  Alhambra. 

Choir  Boys,  or  (Six  Boys  playing  on  Trumpets; 

Four  Children  dancing.)  ....  Luca  delta  Robbia 

Menos  Procession,  the  Nine  Muses. 

Moorish  Panel  —  From  the  Alhambra. 

Moorish  Panel  —  From  the  Alhambra. 

Nike"  decorating  a  Trophy  —  From  the  Balus- 
trade of  the  Temple  of  Nikd  Apteros, 
Athens. 

Parthenon  Frieze,  Slabs  from  Western  Frieze. 

St.  Cecilia. 

Savonarola. 

Six  Children  playing  on  Cymbals       .         .        .    Luca  della  Robbia 

Augustus  (young). 

Dante {Naples) 

Hermes,  Olympian Praxiteles 

Homer (Naples') 

Jupiter,  or  Zeus  of  Atricoli  —  From  the  Vatican. 

Minerva  Giustiniani  —  In  the  Braccio  Nuovo  of 
the  Vatican. 

Narcissus  —  From  National  Museum,  Naples. 

Sophocles  —  From  Lateran  Museum. 

Unknown  Woman  —  From  the  Louvre. 


INDEX 


Air,  bad  and  good,  36. 

tests  for  bad,  36. 
Aquaria,  120. 

Arrangement  in  school  work,  171. 
Arrangement  of  flowers,  120. 
Artificial  lighting,  33. 

ventilation,  42. 
Artistic  school  work,  213. 
Ash  finish,  84. 
Assembly  hall,  23. 
Astigmatism,  154. 
Attics,  14. 
Authorities,  school,  160. 

Balance  in  school  papers,  175. 
Baths  in  public  schools,  79. 
Beauty,  in  arrangement,  173. 

in  spacing,  172. 

in  balance,  175. 
Belfry,  the,  29. 
Belgium,  school  site  laws,  7. 
Bicycle  rooms,  23. 
Blackboard,  the,  78. 
Blackboards,  color  of,  90. 
Blinds,  91. 

Bohn,  Arthur,  on  the   construction 
and     requirements     of     school 
buildings,  8. 
Bookcases,  92. 

Boston  school  building  laws,  1 8. 
Bouquets,  120. 
Brick  for  schoolhouses,  13. 
Bulletins,  92,  125. 

Cabinets,  20,  92. 

Care  of  the  school  building,  64. 


Casts,  color  of,  109. 

definition  of,  108. 

for  grammar  grades,  113,  214. 

for  high  school  grades,  114,  219. 

for  intermediate  grades,  113,  217. 

for     kindergarten     and     primary 
grades,   113,  217. 

frames  for,  112. 

in  relief,  position  of,  1 10. 

in  the  round,  pedestals  for,  no. 

in  the  round,  position  of,  109. 

position  of,  96. 

qualities  of,  108. 

subjects  of,  112. 
Cesspools,  61. 
Chadwick,   Sir    E.,   on    ventilation, 

etc.,  33. 

Chicken-pox,  137. 
Children  in  schools,  127. 
Chromos,  99. 
City  school,  location  of,  4. 
Classification  of  works  of  art,  97. 
Cloakroom,  22. 
Cohn,  Dr.,  on  lighting,  56. 
Color,  application  of,  90. 

for  schoolroom,  86. 

in  framing,  106. 

medium  used,  90. 

of  border,  89. 

of  blackboards,  90. 

of  casts,  109. 

of  ceiling,  89. 

of  finish,  88. 

of  flower  vases,  118. 

of  ventilators,  90. 

of  walls,  86,  89. 


INDEX 


221 


Colored  photographs,  100. 
Colors  to  be  avoided,  87. 
Contagious  diseases,  134,  137,  141. 
Corridors,  20. 
Country  schools,  cleansing  of,  123. 

pictures  for,  126. 

location  of,  2. 

Dado,  the,  15. 
Deafness,  133. 

Death-rate  of  American  school  chil- 
dren, II. 
Decoration,  of  assembly  hall,  97. 

of  schoolroom,  94. 

overdone,  94. 
Deodorants,  68. 
Desks,  73. 

Diphtheria,  134,  137. 
Diseases,  contagious,  134. 
Disinfection,  69. 
Doors,  20. 
Drinking  cups,  81. 
Drinking  fountain,  a  sanitary,  8l. 
Drinking  water  in  schools,  80. 
Dry  closet  method,  the,  61. 
Durgin,  Dr.  S.  H.,  on  medical  inspec- 
tion, 139. 
Dust  in  the  schoolroom,  66. 

Earth  closets,  62. 

Eight-room  schoolhouses,  31. 

Enrichment  of  school  papers,  177. 

Entrances,  21. 

Eulenberg  on  posture  at  desk,  74. 

Expenditures  on  buildings,  12. 

Exterior  design,  18. 

Eye,  school  life  influence  on,  146. 

Eyesight,  causes  of  defects  in,  154. 

Fan  system  of  ventilation,  48. 
Finish,  a  key  to  color  scheme,  87. 

colors  of,  88. 

for  schoolroom,  84. 
Fire  drills,  17. 


Fire,  protection  from,  17. 
Flag,  place  for,  96. 
Floors  of  schoolrooms,  14,  79. 
Flowers,  119. 

arrangement  of,  120. 
Forster,  Professor,  on  lighting,  55. 
Four-room  schoolhouse,  30. 
Framing,  of  casts,  112. 

of  pictures,  104. 
Furnishings,  92. 
Furniture,  73,  92. 

Furtenbach,  J.,  on  healthful  school- 
houses,  9. 

German  measles,  137. 
Germany,  school  site  laws,  7. 

lighting  requirements  in,  58. 
Grammar  grades,  casts  for,  113,  190. 
Grass  plot,  importance  of,  49. 
Gravity  system  of  ventilating,  44. 

Hanging  of  pictures,  107. 
Hearing,  defects  in,  133. 
Heating  schoolrooms,  33,  50. 
High  school,  casts  for,  114,  219. 

pictures  for,  103. 
Historical  pictures,  98. 
Holland,  lighting  requirements,  57. 
Hospital  rooms,  79. 
Hysteria,  133. 

Infection,  how  to  guard  against,  70. 

Inks,  colors  of,  157. 

Inside  blinds,  91. 

Interior  construction,  13. 

Interior  design,  20. 

Intermediate  grades,  casts  for,  113, 

187. 
pictures  for,  102. 

Janitor's  duties,  64. 
Japanese  prints,  loo. 

Kindergarten,  casts  for,  113,  217. 
pictures  for,  102. 


222 


INDEX 


Language   topics   from  "The   Holy 

Family,"  178. 

Lighting,  of  schoolrooms,  33,  54. 
of  room,  determining  color,  86. 
of  one-room  schoolhouses,  27. 
requirements  abroad,  57—58. 
Lithographs,  99. 
Location  of  schools,  I. 
London,  lighting  requirements,  58. 
Long    sight,   chart    showing   preva- 
lence of,  150,  153. 
Lunch  rooms,  23. 

Luther,    Martin,    on    the    need    of 
schools,  9. 

Malaria,  138. 

Mann,    Horace,    on     schoolhouses, 

10. 

Manual  training,  rooms  for,  23. 
Map  lettering,  156. 
Margin  on  school  papers,  172. 
Mats,  color  of,  104. 

when  used  in  framing,  104. 

width  of,  105. 
Measles,  134,  135,  137. 
Medical   inspection,  Superintendent 
\V.  B.  Powell  on,  145. 

in  Boston  schools,  138,  139. 

in  various  cities,  141. 
Medical  inspector,  salary  of,  143. 
Mediums  for  walls,  90. 
Mumps,  134,  136. 

Myopia,   chart   showing  prevalence 
of,  150,  153. 

Nearsight,  154. 

Needlework,  effect  on  eyesight,  157. 

Normal  vision,  153. 

Oak  finish,  84. 

One-room  schoolhouses,  24. 

Painted  finish,  86. 
Paper  for  walls,  90. 
o 


Papers,  plan  of,  173. 
Parents,  interest  in  schools,  1 66. 
Patrons  of  the  school,  189. 
Pedestals,  for  casts,  1 10. 
Photographs,  100. 
Picture-frames,  colors  of,  106. 
Pictures,  choice  of,  98. 

for  grammar  grades,  103,  214. 

for  high  school  grades,  103,  216. 

for  intermediate  grades,  102. 

for     kindergarten     and     primary 
grades,  102,  213. 

for  ungraded  schools,  126. 

framing  of,  104. 

hanging  of,  107. 

historical,  98. 

kinds  of,  99. 

subjects  of,  too. 

to  be  avoided,  99. 

ways  of  procuring,  125. 
Pine  finish,  84. 
Plan  of  school  papers,  173. 
Plaster,  finish  of,  86. 
Plumbing,  60. 
Position  of  casts,  96. 
Powell,   Superintendent   W.   B.,  on 

medical  inspection,  145. 
Primary  grades,  casts  for,  113,  217. 

pictures  for,  102. 
Principal's  office,  23; 
Public  authorities,  responsibility,  162. 

Ransome,  Dr.,  on  bad  air,  35. 
Recitation  rooms,  23. 
Retiring  room  for  teachers,  23. 
Richards,  Mrs.  Ellen  H.,  on  lack  of 

money  to  carry  on  school  work, 

161. 
Round  shoulders,  131. 

Sanitary  conditions,  responsibility  of 

teachers,  163. 

Sanitary  drinking  fountain,  81. 
Sanitary  inspection,  71. 


INDEX 


223 


Sanitary  laws,  legislation,  10,  n. 
Sanitary  problems,  60. 
Sanitary  science,  instruction  in,  164. 
Scarlet  fever,  134,  135,  137. 
Schoolroom,  beauty  dependent  upon 
harmonious  relations,  83. 

colors  for,  86. 

decoration,  94. 

finish  of,  84. 

furnishings,  92. 

its  character,  83. 

window  shades,  91. 
School  work,  beauty  in,  168. 

designs,  182-211. 

display  of,  93. 

illustration  of  balance,  182-211. 

illustration  of  history  papers,  182- 

211. 

illustrations   of    language  papers, 

182-211. 
illustrations  of  nature  study,  182- 

211. 
illustration  of  number  work,  182- 

211. 

illustration    of     spelling     papers, 

182-211. 

lessons  in  mounting,  182-211. 
Scotland,     laws     regarding     school 

sites,  7. 

Seats  and  desks,  75. 
Selection  of  sites,  i. 
Sewer  and  water  connection,  60. 
Sewerage  systems,  6l. 
Shades,  color  of,  91. 
Short  sight,  chart  showing  prevalence 

of,  150,  153. 
Sickness  in  schools,  79. 
Sites  of  schools,  i. 
Sizes  of  schoolrooms,  20. 
Small-pox,  135,  137. 
Soil  of  school  sites,  3. 
Spinal  curvature,  statistics  of,  130. 
St.  Vitus'  Dance,  133. 
Stairways,  21. 


State  Board  of  Health,  162. 
Steam  heating,  50. 
Store  rooms,  23. 
Stoves  in  schoolrooms,  51. 
Subjects,  of  casts,  112. 

of  pictures,  100. 
Sweden,  lighting  requirements,  59. 

Teacher's  desk,  decoration  of,  124. 
Temperature,  40. 
Tests  for  bad  air,  36. 

of  vision,  156. 

Text-books,  type,  effect  on  sight,  156. 
Tiles,  to  be  avoided,  118. 

use  of,  117. 
Toilet  rooms,  21. 

care  of  the,  68. 
Toning  of  room,  89. 
Towels,  80. 
Tuberculosis,  136. 
Two-room  schoolhouse,  30. 
Type  of  text-books,  155,  156. 
Typhoid  fever,  138. 

Vases,  for  flowers,  118. 

grouping  of,  116. 

kinds  of,  114. 

quantity  of,  1 16. 

to  be  avoided,  115. 
Venetian  blinds,  91. 
Ventilating,  33. 
Ventilation,  natural,  40. 

artificial,  42. 

of  one-room  schoolhouses,  27. 

requirements,  39. 
Ventilators,  color  of,  90. 
Vestibules,  21. 
Vienna,  laws  regarding  school  sites,  7. 

lighting  requirements,  59. 
Vision,  tests  of,  156. 

normal,  153. 

Wainscotting,  15. 
Walls,  15,  86. 


224 


INDEX 


Walls,  color  of,  86. 

mediums  for,  90. 

paper  for,  90. 
Wardrobe,  22. 
Washstands,  80. 
Water  closets,  60. 

number  required,  63. 
Water  supply,  4,  69. 


Whitewood  finish,  85. 
Whooping  cough,  134,  136,  137. 
Windows,  1 6,  54. 
Window  gardens,  119. 

window  shades,  91,  123. 
Woodwork,     suggesting     color     of 
room,  87. 


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